Chosen
by Supa Artemis and Supa Cheyenne
Summary: A young female noble is sent to live at the palace of the Pharaoh, and the results are something that neither one of them could have imagined. YamixOC Summary sucks 8D Sorry. This is based in Ancient Egypt, where Yami Yugi is Pharaoh Atem. By Cheyenne.
1. Prologue

Hello! This is Cheyenne here, writing a separate fanfic. by myself. It'll suck, but hey! It's all in the fun, right? Anyways, I fail at all things grammar, so bear with me ^^ Hope you like the series!

Side note: I REALLY don't like Anzu/Tea so… erm… *coughcough* forgive me if you happen to like her.

DISCLAIMER!! I do NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh! Flamers will also be beaten with THE stick of DOOM. ((Original name The stick of ETERNAL DOOMYNESS, but I was lazy and decided to shorten it.)) POINT STILL STANDS. Constructing criticism I'm fine with, as I'm well aware I'll probably need it =D Flaming however, is something different, much meaner, and there for NOT TOLERATED ^^ If this is somehow unclear to you, I suggest you run for your life before THE stick of DOOM comes after you ^^ FLAMING IS BAD. Mwah ha ha =P Happy comments and reviews are appreciated ^^

Another side note: The main characters name (the character I made up) is pronounced A-SO-KA.

And yet another side note (I should REALLY start typing…): This is the prologue =D

________________________________

"WHAT?" A girl with flashing azure eyes and jet black raven hair yelled at an older, graying man; seated in a chair in front of her.

"I said: You'll be going to the palace of the Pharaoh. I believe you'll benefit from the experience well, and bring great honor to our family."

"Father…" The girl's voice was a little choked, and her eyes became misty. Slowly, she sat down in a chair which had been propped up against the browned walls of her room, and placed her face in her palms, jet black hair falling around her face like a water fall. "I don't want to go. I walk to stay here and…" The girl trailed off, reaching out a slightly tanned hand to briefly stroke the walls of the room which had been her sanctuary for the past sixteen, almost seventeen years.

"I know," the older man said, looking a little remorseful. "But it's for your own good. The palace can provide you with opportunities that myself or our village never could. And as minor nobles… we're lucky we have this chance, Asoka."

"I know." Asoka looked down at the floor quietly. Sighing, she looked back up at the man; her father. "Alright," she said, turning her head to look out her window, where outside a small oasis was visible through the golden sand. "I'll go."

"Thank you," the father whispered quietly, standing up to hug his daughter once more before taking his leave; pausing only when he heard Asoka call out:

"Father… when am I leaving?"

"Tomorrow…" the father whispered, before leaving his daughter to pack, for while his story was almost finished, hers was only about to begin.


	2. Chapter 1: An Audience with the Pharaoh

Cheyenne again! (Obvs. As this is my own story, not one I'm writing with Artemis.)

Asoka: Disclaimer! Yu-Gi-Oh does NOT belong to Cheyenne!

Cheyenne: Don't I wish?

Atem: Yes, you wish.

Asoka: =)

Cheyenne: Asoka is the only character that belongs to me ^^. Though after I wrote that story, I figured out there was a Yu-Gi-Oh character called Asuka or something? When I saw that I was all like: "Oh, crap." PLEASE DON'T THINK I STOLE THE NAME FROM THERE AND EDITED IT, 'KAY? Because I didn't ^^ I remembered the name from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and thought it would work well with my character. Which it seems to. *Everlasting happiness* =D

Asoka: Yeah.

Cheyenne: I'm on a writing spree tonight (while everyone is at New Years Eve parties, I'm sitting at home on the computer baby-sitting and writing stories. Is this slightly odd? Maybe =O), so… say hello to chapter two!

Side note: This chapter switches views between Atem and Asoka. PLEASE; if this is confusing to you, please let me know so I can find a better way to write it. Thanks!

//Atem//

A young man stood on a balcony, attached to a rather large, rather finely furnished room. In front of him stretched the rooftops, and streets of the city in which his palace overlooked. Beyond that, the sands of the desert stretched; seeming as if they never ended.

"Sire?" A new voice startled the man, who turned around with a startled look. His spiky, tri-coloured hair ruffled a bit by the stir of air.

"Yes?"

"Forgive me, Pharaoh. I did not mean to startle you." Though the newcomers' voice was sincere, the young man detected a teasing glimmer in his eyes.

"That's alright," Pharaoh Atem said, waving his hand once and nodding. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Atem murmured, his violet eyes itching to return to the wonderful view that his balcony provided.

Mahado smirked, as if he knew what was bothering the young Pharaoh. "I have come to tell you that we are to have a… visitor."

"Oh?" Atem said, with a slight frown creasing his tanned face. "And who might that be?"

"Her name is Asoka. She's the daughter of a miner noble, in one of the smaller villages."

"Ah… no doubt she's just another mindless-"Atem broke off his sentence, and a wry smile pulled at the edges of his mouth. "I'm willing to bet you she just came to have a chance at-"

"Marrying you, sire? I wouldn't doubt that. Most of the young women who have come for these stays are. They say they're here to learn, when all they do is…"

"Yes, I know." Atem cut Mahado off with an amused smirk of his own.

Mahado shrugged. "I just wanted to inform you, my Pharaoh. She'll be arriving tomorrow. I advise you best prepare a speech on how to let her know you aren't interested in a marriage."

Atem laughed outright. "That I shall do," he said. "You may go now."

"As you wish," Mahado bowed, and left the room.

_Asoka…_ Atem could not help but think. Secretly, he wondered,-Hoped, even- that maybe this girl could be different from the others.

___________________________________________

//Asoka//

Asoka could not help but gasp, as the magnificent palace of the Pharaoh rose up before her. She knew it would have been grand, but even Asoka could not have even begun to image the majesty of this building.

_I must research upon this,_ Asoka thought to herself. _Such an impressive building would have taken-_

"Lady Asoka?" A voice said, and Asoka snapped out of her thoughts long enough to notice that the man beside her, her escort, was staring at her; his expression seeming to say: "Well?"

"Umm, I uh… would you mind repeating that?" Asoka asked, feeling her face redden in embarrassment. _I really need to stop this daydreaming…_

"I said, what do you think of the palace?" The man asked, amusement tickled his brown eyes.

"Oh, it is grand! Please, tell me. You're a guard, aren't you? How long did it take to build this?" Asokas' azure eyes were wide, and curious. She mentally slapped herself, knowing that she should try and refrain her curiosity.

The guard looked surprised at her question. He had been expecting her to ask about the Pharaoh, as all the other girls who had come before had. "It took many years, though I am not sure how long exactly." The guard looked a little sheepish as he admitted this, for he had been completely caught off; well, guard by this question.

"Oh…" Asoka said, nodding. _I shall have to look it up for myself, later…_

"Lady Asoka!" A new voice called out, as the massive doors to the palace throne room were thrown open.

"Ack!" Asoka said, trying to muffle her voice as one of the scrolls she had been holding dropped to the ground. Picking it up quickly, she was hustled inside by members of the palace household, until she was standing at the foot of a large stairway. Asokas' eyes took in the architecture of the place with wonder, and it was then someone cleared their throat. Asoka looked up, and found herself staring into the violet eyes of a young man, perhaps a year or so older than herself. His eyes were a beautiful shade of violet, and his skin was nicely tanned. His hair was spiky, and tri-colored. Asoka figured this must be the young Pharaoh Atem, for he sat upon a large, golden throne. Plus, the stairway in front of Asoka led right up to him.

"Lady Asoka, welcome to the palace!" Asoka turned her head full of wavy jet black hair, to see a group of about six people. One of these people had stepped forward, and was addressing her. "I am Mahado, one of six High Priests (And Priestesses) to the Pharaoh."

"Please to meet you," Asoka said pleasantly, with a smile. "Tell me," Asoka said suddenly. "How did they build this?"

"They?" Mahado asked, his brown eyes registering confusion.

"This?" A young women, and from her attire Asoka judged that she was one of the high priestesses.

"Yes this!" Asoka gestured around her. "This. The palace! I ask one of the guards, but…" Asoka trailed off with a frown as some of the Priests looked at her in surprise. Asoka looked around the room, and found that everyone was looking at her in the same fashion; even the young Pharaoh.

Asoka suddenly felt scared. Had she said something wrong? Suddenly, one of the Priests began laughing. He was tall, and his robes were colored both blue and white. Asoka guessed that he, too, was a High Priest.

"What?" Asoka asked, wanting to run behind one of the pillars and hide.

"I am sorry, Asoka. Seto should not have laughed; but I'm guessing he was just as surprised as the rest of us were!" Mahado said, with a slight chuckle.

"Why should you be surprised?" Asoka asked with a slight frown.

"No one has ever expressed interest in that, and certainly not a young noble, male OR female!" The one priest, Seto, replied.

"Well, why not? It is a magnificent structure! It must have taken years of careful building to construct it…" Asoka said, blinking quietly.

"Truth be told, we don't really know how long it took to build. It was built many years ago, and since then there have been many Pharaohs. I doubt anyone alive would know." Asoka turned as a voice sounded from the direction of the throne. She turned and saw the young Pharaoh, Atem, smirking as he leaned back in his golden chair.

"I see…" Asoka said carefully.

The female priestess stepped forward, a kind smile upon her face. "You might find it in the scullery. We keep many documents there." Her voice was kind, and Asoka decided she liked this woman.

"Thank you-"

"Isis," The priestess replied.

"Isis," Asoka smiled back at her.

"I shall take you there, if you would like?" Isis suggested, and Asoka nodded eagerly.

"Oh, yes!" The young girl replied, knowing she probably sounded like an immature moron. She couldn't help it, however; for when she got exited, she often acted younger then her sixteen-almost-seventeen years of age.

"This way," Isis said, as she and Asoka swept through a door adjoining the throne room, leaving everyone else is a sort of shocked silence.

__________________________________________________

//Atem//

"That was… different," Seto muttered after the two females had left.

"I'll say," A priest named Shada agreed, with a nod of his smooth, bald head.

"She didn't even flutter her eyelashes once!" Mahado laughed.

"Nor did she coo, swoon, or make any of that weird, flirtatious stuff that women seem SO fond of doing!" Seto rolled his eyes as he added this in.

Atem said nothing for his part, he merely started thinking deeply. Had the gods answered his prayers? Was this girl truly different, or was she merely pretending? And if she was not… Atem shook his head, and smiled down at his Priests. "I call this meeting to an end," the Pharaoh said as he stood up out of his throne, rubbing one of the gold bracelets that encased his wrist.

"Of course," the remaining priests said, as they bowed and went their separate ways.

Cheyenne: Woo! And there you have it, chapter one!

Asoka: Yes! I'm not an annoying flirt!

Atem: *Is secretly happy, but is being too Atem-ish to show that.*

Cheyenne: To bad.

Asoka: To bad…? You've lost me.

Cheyenne: I have a little… surprise guest coming in during the next chapter.

Atem: NO!! Surely you don't mean…

Cheyenne: Oh, I do. And I'm really sorry to leave you all dangling like that. I'm in a serious writing mood, but it's 1:22 AM and… I should be getting some sleep because I STILL need to watch my movie, and my cousins will be getting up early tomorrow morning; which means I'll be getting up, too. Otherwise, I'd write that second chapter right now!!

Atem: But how could you bring Her in?

Cheyenne: I thought it would make the whole thing more interesting ^^

HAPPY NEW YEARS, EVERYBODY!!!!

Hint: I mentioned that I hated our "Special Guest" earlier in the prologue. Kudos for those who can guess it right =D Reviews are appreciated! I shall have the third chapter up later on… today… because I'm just THAT much of a loser.

MWAH HA HA!


	3. Chapter 2: The Scrollery & the Princess

Cheyenne: Woo! *Is In supa-mega writing mode.* *Nudges Atem*

Atem: Disclaimer: Cheyenne does not own Yu-Gi-Oh.

Cheyenne: Thankies ^^. This idea struck me last night at about 1:30 AM, while I was writing the first official chapter. Then, I elaborated it a bit, and *finally* came up with a climax for later. Though the climax doesn't really follow the original story line, I wasn't too fond of the fact that Atem had to leave in the end. *Pouts* So I changed it (Okay, re-wrote is more like it). Mwah ha ha!!

Asoka: *Looks slightly scared*

Cheyenne: *Grins* Let the story begin! By the way, don't ask why but I feel the need to capitalize High Priest, High Priestess, and Pharaoh. It makes them seem… I dunno, more important.

((Note: I would like to thank alice456 very much for the review =D Thank you!!))

//Asoka//

Asokas' eyes widened as the High Priestess Isis led her into a large room. Shelves were set up in an orderly fashion, and some were even decorated with elaborate symbols. However, it was what lay upon the scroll that caught her attention.

"So many documents…" She whispered, azure eyes widening in delight.

"Yes. I'm not saying you would, but I would like to remind you to try and be careful. Some of these documents are quite old; as I'm sure you already know." Isis said with a kind smile.

"Oh, I'll be careful!" Asoka vowed solemnly.

"And as we have some other nobles staying with us, I would like to remind you also; not to disturb them."

"Yes," Asoka replied, her expression serious. "I won't!"

"Excellent! I'll leave you to your studies, then!" Isis smiled once more, and swept out the door.

Asoka waited a little bit, pulling at her white dress; which was plain save the fancy embroidery that had been sewn around the neck-area, and near the base. Then, she walked over to the pile of scrolls, the titles of which read: History. Nothing had ever thrilled Asoka as much as history. She drank it in like a hungry man drank in water.

_Across the golden sands of the desert, lies a tribe of which few have seen, and survived the experience. Once, this tribe had been at peace with the city of the Pharaohs; but overtime, that peace wore down until the tribe declared war against the Pharaohs great city. Though these tribe-men were defeated by the High Priests of the Pharaoh, they vowed their revenge._

"A pleasant thought," Asoka murmured, her mind wandering quietly.

_I wonder what would happen if these tribe-men should return…_

__________________________________________________

//Atem//

Atem waited until everyone but the guards in the throne room had left, before he stood up, moving towards the door in which Isis and the new girl, Asoka, had departed. He wanted to see if this girls interest in knowledge was genuine… or a trick designed to ensnare him. Opening the doors to the scrollery, Atem stepped in, and began searching for the girl.

___________________________________________________

//Asoka//

A shadow falling over the scroll she had been reading made Asoka look up. Now, she wished she hadn't, for she was staring into the leering face of a young man, probably a noble.

"Hello…" the man drawled, but Asoka could tell he might have had a BIT to much to drink earlier.

"Can I help you?" Asoka said coolly.

"Yes, you can actually." The man gave a small chuckle. "You're vvvvery prrretty," his words were in a drunken slur, and Asoka could feel her face heating up in anger. She had often been told she was pretty, but she hadn't ever really cared.

"Why thank you, kind sir. Now, if you don't mind." Asoka turned back to her scroll, only to find herself grabbed from behind, and spun around to face the drunken man, who was still leering at her with a smug expression.

"Come 'ere, you!" The drunken man pulled Asoka so close she could smell the ale on his breath. He began pushing her against a wall, so without thinking, Asoka punched him square in the nose, which sent him reeling backwards into one of the shelves. This cause a horrible crashing nose, as scrolls fell around the man. Asoka, her face red-hot with anger, stepped once towards him. Her azure eyes flashed dangerously. Her father had always thought she should learn some basic self defense, something she had never needed until now.

"You stay away from me!" Asoka shouted, unaware of a pair of violet eyes watching her carefully. "I came here to study, not to be…" Asoka could not finish, she was so angry. She took another menacing step towards the drunk man, who seemed to cower and try to move away while covering up his nose, which was bleeding horribly. Finally, Asoka stopped moving to watch the man scrambled up, and run out of the room. Asoka blinked once, her eyes calming down a bit; but you could tell she was still angry.

_Great…_ Asoka thought. She looked down at the mess of scrolls, and winced. She had promised Isis she would be careful! Bending down, Asoka gently began to pick up the scrolls, a couple of times mumbling she was sorry. Suddenly, she became aware oh someone else standing behind her. Asoka felt her face redden again. She was probably about to get kicked out by a guard or someone, as a punishment for her actions. Asoka bent her head, but continued to pick up scrolls and documents gently. There for, she was very surprised when a new hand reached out, and grabbed one of the scrolls beside her.

_________________________________________________

//Atem//

((Five minutes previously))

Atem watched as the girl studied carefully, seemingly fascinated with the scroll she had found.

_Pah, how do I know this isn't just part of a trick rehearsed by the girls father?_ Atem thought bitterly, so lost in thought that he failed to notice the drunken man before it was almost too late. Atem had been just about to step in, when the girl had thrown a punch which knocked the man into the nearest shelf, spilling it's contents everywhere. He watched as the girl yelled at the man to stay away from her, and Atem almost started laughing when the man whimpered, and scrambled out of the room like one of the Egyptian gods was chasing him!

"I came here to study!" Asokas' words rang in his mind. Did she really? Or was this STILL another trick?

_Damn, I'm paranoid!_ Atem shook his head. This girl didn't even know he was watching her! Why would she keep up the charade? Atem watched slowly as the girl started picking up scrolls, and he found himself startled when she whispered sorry to them.

_Talking to scrolls…?_

Atem sighed, and moved forward. He supposed he should help this girl. Reaching out one of his hands, he grasped the nearest scroll. Atem had seen the girl hang her head when his shadow had fallen over her, and he supposed she thought she was going to be kicked out, and that he was a guard. The Pharaoh also registered her body tensing in surprise, as she saw he was helping her.

"Just tell me when I have to pack my things. I'll be out of here by sundown." Atem blinked his violet eyes as the girl spoke. Clearly she had decided he was some guard, here to take her away.

"Why would I do that? It seems perfectly normal for one to protect oneself from an unwanted... experience." Atem arched one of his brows, and he couldn't keep the smirk out of his voice as he spoke. What would she think now?

______________________________________________

"Wha-?!" Asoka spun around to face herself face-to-face with none other than the Pharaoh of Egypt himself. Asoka looked down at the floor, feeling herself flushing under his violet gaze. "I'm sorry, I-I thought you were someone else."

The Pharaoh blinked once, and smirked. "Obviously."

Asoka couldn't keep the scowl off her face. "Stop playing with me! Just… get it over with, okay?" She continued picking up the scrolls, and placing them gently on the shelves as she awaiting her incoming punishment.

"Playing with you? Why would I do that? Personally, I've wanted to do the same thing to him since he came here!"

Asoka looked up in surprise as the Pharaoh spoke, almost dropping the scroll she had been holding in surprise. Blinking her azure eyes once, she and the Pharaoh both reached for the last scroll at the same time, their hands brushing gently as they both grabbed a hold of the scroll. Asoka let go first (after blushing hotly), and watched as Atem put the scroll in its proper place.

"What were you reading?" Asoka looked up as the heard the Pharaohs' question.

"Oh, umm…just a history scroll."

"May I see?" Atem asked, and Asoka nodded readily.

"Sure." Asoka walked over to the table where she had been reading, and gestured to the scroll.

"Ah… you're reading about the tribe? Nasty business, that was…" Atem said, his eyes resting on the maze of hieroglyphics that raced across the page.

"Yes. It's quite… fascinating, actually." Asoka blinked. "But I don't understand one thing. How would… how did they-The Priests and Priestesses- defeat a whole entire army?"

_________________________________________

//Atem//

Atem debated whether to tell this girl of the millennium items, and finally decided it couldn't hurt. "The millennium items," he said.

"Oh!" Asoka said, eyes widening. "I read about those."

"You… read about them?" Atem asked, surprised.

"Yes. My father was able to get a hold of a scroll."

Atem shook his head in disbelief. _Maybe she isn't just an empty headed-_

"Sire!" Mahado said, walking into the room. "We have a new arrival."

"What?" Atem said, standing up. His navy blue cape swirled around him, and his violet eyes registered surprise. "Who is it?"

"It was a surprise arrival. In truth, we did not expect her arrival until much later." Mahado explained, but his brown eyes looked almost angry.

"I see," Atem said, though in truth he did not.

"You must receive her in the throne room, sire."

"Yes, yes of course," Atem said, though in truth he would have much rather stayed here and talked with Asoka. Indeed, the gods had answered his prayers when they sent her to the palace.

"Come." Mahado gestured for the Pharaoh to follow him, which Atem did.

___//Ten minutes later//___

Atem seated himself in his throne, leaning back as he tried to find a more comfortable position. Rubbing his gold-covered wrists as he tended to do sometimes, Atem sat back at waited for the new arrival. He had known she had been coming, and it almost made the conversation he and Asoka had a little… ironic. For this girl was not only from the infamous tribe; but she was the tribe leaders daughter.

_I hope she's not as bitchy as she had been when I first met her,_ Atem thought to himself. Indeed, he had met the tribe leaders' daughter once. His father had taken Atem on a peace mission to the tribe (needless to say this didn't work out as well as they had hoped), and while they had been negotiating, that little b-witch had been batting her eyelashes at him the whole time, until Atem had felt like wrestling her to the ground and plucking out her eyelashes one by one!

Atem was so lost in thought, he failed to register the lookouts announcing the princesses arrival. Atem looked up just in time to see a familiar face. The girls hair was cut short, and the way it was angled made her head looked lopsided, and flat. Atem narrowed his violet eyes as the women stepped forward, and he felt like cringing when she opened her mouth; letting out a shrill sound as she said:

"Lady Anzu has arrived!"


	4. Chapter 3: Wrath of a Princess

Cheyenne: Whoot whoot! *Has just written Chapter Two, but again is feeling like writing.* So… ya'll probably think I'm insane *Insert laughing smiley face* Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. *Grinning* Ya never know!

Atem: *Sighs* She's only insane when she's exited about something.

Cheyenne: *Blushes*

Asoka: Who's Anzu?

Cheyenne: Ah, yes, well, I made you… so I don't suppose you know who Anzu is.

Atem: HOW COULD YOU PUT HER IN THIS STORY?!?!

Cheyenne: She's good for a plot twist later on.

Atem: -_-

Asoka: Cheyenne has a plot twist? *Looks scared*

Cheyenne: Flames are bad. Please, upon entry, leave your torches on the doorstep. Thank you!

THE stick of DOOM: *Doesn't say anything because he is a stick.*

((Supermegaawesome side note: Thank you, Natoya and Alice456 for the reviews! *Feels happy* And yes, I really don't like girly characters xD I prefer my characters to have a personality beyond: ZOMIGODZ DA PHARAOH IS HOT! =D I've seen a lot of fanfics like that (don't worry, Natoya, yours is definitely not one of them ^^) and it kind of annoys me =) She's kind of based off of me in that regard, since reading, history, and writing are my biggest passions ^^ ))

//Asoka//

Asoka looked at the doorway, where the Pharaoh had vanished with High Priest Mahado. She couldn't help but feel disappointed, for he wasn't nearly as stuck up and arrogant as she had expected a Pharaoh to be. Asoka blinked her azure eyes once, and stood up; brushing a strand of her jet-black hair behind her ears. She wished she could put it up, for it reached mid-back length. But alas, she knew she could not. It would not be proper.

_Since when have I cared about proper?_ Asoka thought, but then felt guilty. _Since my father went out of his way to provide me with this opportunity. I mustn't shame my family._

Asoka stood up, and walked out of the room after finished up her studies; maybe an hour after the Pharaoh had left. She knew there was now a new guest in the palace. _What would she be like? _Asoka thought privately, thinking that maybe this girl could be a friend to her?

"But Pharaooohh!" A whiny, shrill voice echoed down the hallway in which Asoka found herself walking down.

"No!" Asokas' attention immediately zoned in on the conversation. Muffling her footsteps as best she could, Asoka crept over to the end of the hallway. Crouching down on the stone floor, Asoka looked around the corner to see two figures. One, she recognized instantly as the Pharaoh for his spiky, tri-colored hair and golden jewelry. The second was a woman Asoka knew she had never seem before in her life. The woman's hair was cropped short, and angled… different. It looked like her hair would fall off her head!

"Plllleeaase?" The woman asked again, reaching towards the Pharaoh. Asokas' azure eyes wandered to the pyramid-shaped object that hung around the Pharaohs' neck.

_A Millennium Item?_ Asoka thought to herself.

"I said no!" The Pharaohs' voice was sharp, and angry. Suddenly and without warning, the strange-looking woman reached out, and grabbed the Millennium Item. The Pharaoh let out an outraged cry, as he shoved the woman back.

"Fine, keep it!" The woman spat. "It's not like it has any value! That stupid father of yours must have given it to you to save him the trouble of throwing it out himself!" The lady stomped down the hallway, and suddenly Asoka realized who this must be. Lady Anzu, the visiting princess!

_Bitch,_ Asoka glowered. She returned her gaze to the Pharaoh, who looked like he had just been slapped in the face. Asoka watched as he spun around, and stomped back to his own room. Asoka knew she should leave him alone, but she could not bear to see anybody that upset. Careful to keep her footsteps as quiet as she could, as crept down to the Pharaoh's room and opened the door a crack, wincing as it made a small noise.

"I hate that woman!" The Pharaoh suddenly said with venom scorching his voice, as he sat upon his large bed. "I wish she would just… die or something!"

Asoka didn't know what to do, so she opened her mouth and said: "I could shove her off a cliff for you?" Immediately, she felt like biting the words back as the Pharaoh snapped his head over to her in a surprised fashion. Though his violet eyes were still distressed, Asoka could detect a hint of amusement sparkling in them.

"Asoka? Sorry, I… thought you were someone else."

"Would you like me to get Mahado?" Asoka offered. "He'll probably know more about this than I do."

"No, please stay. Tell me, how would you go about shoving her off a cliff?"

Asoka couldn't help but grin. "First, I'd lure her to the cliff. Then, I'd say something that would make her look over it, and then I'd just push her off!"

"That's all well and good, but how would you go about luring her to the cliff?" Atem asked mischievously.

"I'd tell her you summoned her, and that you might not be there when she arrived."

"You're hired," Atem laughed now, and Asoka could not help but laugh with him from where she stood in the doorway.

"I'd require something, though."

"And what is that?" Atem asked, surprised.

"My own library of course!" Asoka laughed again as his surprised expression. "Or at least unlimited access to the one here!"

"Of course," Atem said with a teasing glint in his violet eyes. "Granted."

Asoka felt like blushing, but she knew she should not.

"I'm having a dinner party tonight," Atem began casually. "Would you mind attending?"

"Of course not Pharaoh!" Asoka breathed, feeling bewildered. She knew what an honor this was.

"Very good. And please, feel free to call me Atem."

"Yes Phar- I mean Atem."

Atem smiled, and stood up. "You must go get ready! The dinner begins in less than an hour."

Asoka nodded, and left the room. Unaware of the pair of blue-gray eyes watching her.

______________________________________________

//Atem//

Atem left his room suit, and walked down the hallways of his palace. Amazing, how fast Asoka had been able to make him forget his black mood. Not even Mahado could do that! Atem smiled to himself. Yes; indeed the gods had answered his prayers when they sent Asoka. For now he knew that she was not just tricking him the whole time, but that she was genuine. Genuine… Atem shook his head full of spiky, tri-colored hair.

_Pull yourself together!_ He snapped mentally at himself. _You're the Pharaoh. You're supposed to be above such thing!_ Atem took a deep breath, and walked into the dinning hall. The seven High Priests (and priestess) were already there, chatting amongst themselves. Atem could tell that they were no fonder of Anzu, than he was himself. As quickly as he could go without seeming paranoid, Atem made his way over to his seat and sat down.

"Pharaoh!" A high, shrill voice rang out as another door open to reveal Anzu.

_Damnit! _Atem thought, but he forced a small smile. Anzu tittered, and pulled up a chair next to him. Next, she started chattering aimlessly about stuff that Atem knew he could not careless about. There for, he stopped listening to her altogether, and started listening to the conversations among the guards. Honestly? This was MUCH more entertaining.

"Pretty one, ain't she?" One of the guards said, with a slight chuckle to his companion who looked at his like he had a second head growing on his shoulder.

"Are you blind, man? Her hair looks like it's going to fall off her head!"

"Not her! Asoka." The first guard said.

"Ah… yes, she is at that. Nice figure on that one, wouldn't mind bedding her!" The second guard replied, nodding his head in agreement.

Atem felt a small twinge of anger, and a fierce protectiveness overwhelmed him. What right had they to speak of Asoka like that? He caught himself then. Why was he so uptight over this? Why did he feel so protective of someone who had only been here a day? _It's just because she helped you,_ Atem thought. _You feel obliged to help her, after what she did for you._ Yes, that was it.

Suddenly, the doors sprung open and Asoka walked in, looking simply radiant. Her jet-black hair hung in silky waves down to the middle of her back, and her azure eyes were light. She wore a dress of pure white, with some golden thread sewn in around the hem. Depicted in thread, was the Nile river.

"Thank you for joining us, Asoka." Mahado said, breaking the stunned silence.

Asoka blushed. She looked unsure of what to do next, until Isis waved her over, and the young girl took a seat next to the High Priestess.

"Atem!" Anzus' whiny voice broke Atem out of his trance, and Atem turned to glare at her through narrowed violet eyes. "You are NOT to call me that!"

"But-" Anzus' faze darkened, and she cast a anger-filled look over at Asoka, who stared back at her with an equally angry look.

Atem saw Asoka return her gaze to the room around her, which seemed to emit a golden shine. Hieroglyphics adorned the walls, and Atem understood why Asoka was transfixed. It was quite a sight to behold.

"Pharaoh!" Apparently Anzu didn't think the same thing.

"What?" Atem asked irritably.

"Just checking," Anzu said with a stupid grin, as she launched into another conversation about something stupid.

___________________________________________

//Asoka//

Asoka felt like punching Anzus' nose in the whole time through the dinner. She hadn't even been here a day, and already that… Asoka calmed herself down. She hated Anzu, and Anzu clearly hated her. But why? Asoka had a reason for hating Anzu, but what reason did Anzu have for hating Asoka?

"Isis… is Anzu really the daughter of that tribe leader?" Asoka asked the High Priestess.

"Yes," Isis replied, with a nod of her head. "The Pharaoh can't stand her; and I don't mind saying that the rest of us can't, either!"

"I don't blame you!" Asoka said, keeping her voice under control. "I mean, did you SEE what she did ear…li…er…" Asoka trailed off, and looked down.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, it's just…" Asoka shook her head. "She's just a b-witch, that's all!" Asoka was careful to sensor her use of language.

Isis laughed. "No argument there."

"Pharaoh!" Anzus' shrill voice cut through the conversations, and everyone looked up at her. Anzu had a haughty look on her face, and Asoka looked at Seto, Mahado, and Shada. All three priests looked like they wanted to strangle her, Seto especially.

"What, Anzu?" Atems' voice was clearly irritated.

"My daddy says that our wedding should be set in about two month's time."

"WHAT?!" Atem roared, standing up in his seat with a murderous look in his violet eyes. Asoka knew she had to do something. Pushing her chair back, she ran up behind the Pharaoh.

_If he tries to strangle her…Seto won't be too happy. I'll bet he wants to do it himself!_ Asoka laughed inwardly at that, but she also knew that it could spell potential war between the tribe and their city.

"Atem," Asoka said quietly, putting a restraining hand on his shoulder. Even though she knew he was stronger than her, Asoka knew she would have to at least try.

It seemed to work, as Atem relaxed a little. "Anzu, since when am I to marry YOU?"

Anzu tittered again, all the while looking like she could strangle Asoka. And she would have, had the Pharaoh not been standing right between them. "Why, Pharaoh! I thought this had all been arranged when your father was negotiating with my father! You remember, all those years ago!"

"Yes, and you're still a bitch!" Asoka could not hold back her anger any longer, but she was satisfied when the Pharaoh said that. Anzu narrowed her eyes, and before anyone could react, she shoved the Pharaoh aside and held a dinner knife to Asokas' throat. "Is it because of HER? I saw her come out of your room! Is she your lover now?"

"What the h-"Asoka began, but was cut off as Anzu grabbed her. "Let go of me!" Asoka yelled, elbowing Anzu in the gut. This seemed to work, for the princess let go of her and groaned. Asokas' appearance looked disheveled, but she turned to face Anzu with a fiery anger in her azure eyes.

"No! I was in there because of what YOU did!" The young noble said, and Anzu started to move towards her again when Atem stepped between them.

"ENOUGH! Anzu, you will return to your tribe. You are no longer welcome here!" Atems' filled the room, and even Seto looked uncomfortable, yet still amused by this whole thing.

"You'll pay for that, Pharaoh! I don't know if you've bothered to learn this yet, but we're no longer just a tribe!" She laughed, maybe more like cackled. "Several years ago, we discretely took over a small, neighboring country. Our forces were great then, but they are even greater now!" Anzus' eyes burned, as she inched towards the doors. "You'll be sorry, Pharaoh! You, your kingdom, and that little slut will pay!" She yelled, looking almost insane with rage as she bolted from the palace, stealing the stallion of a patrolling guard, and riding out of the city.

Asoka blinked, and looked at the stunned faces of those all around her. "Did what just happen, happen? Or did I just go insane and imagine the whole thing?"

Atem exhaled, and turned to fix his violet eyes on her. "It happened."

Asoka blinked, and shook her head. "That was… really odd." Suddenly, she noticed a sharp pain on her right arm, and she lifted it up to set a long, crimson cut that stretched from just above her wrist, to just before her elbow. "That bitch!"

The room around her went blurry, and the last thing she saw was Atem, yelling her name as the world around her went black.


	5. Chapter 4: Silent Battles

Cheyenne: So last time we left off with a bit of a hanger!

Atem: *Narrows eyes*

Asoka: How could you DO that to me?

Cheyenne: Erm… I needed to establish Anzus' role as a bitchy, mean, and slightly-insanely-sadistic princess person.

Asoka: Um… yeah, great. But at the cost of my LIFE?!

Cheyenne: Don't worry, it won't be life threatening until later =D

Atem: What's that supposed to mean?

Cheyenne: You'll have to read and find out! I'm sorry if this story is going a little fast-paced for some people, I just have this huge urge to write a story =)

Asoka: Obvs.

Cheyenne: And Natoya, feel free to push Anzu off a cliff ^^ *Shives Anzu towards you* Have fun =D I shall watch! *Takes out video camera* And thank YOU for the compliments =D *Happiness*

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//Atem//

Atem watched in horror as the light in Asokas' azure eyes dimmed, and she collapsed onto the ground. "Isis! Call the healer!" Atem called in alarm, upon seeing the wound that ran the length of Asokas' arm. Normally not enough to do any serious damage, but this cut was deep, and near the vein. Atem figured it had been left open and bleeding long enough, to cause Asoka to faint from loss of blood.

"What is it, Pharaoh?" The young healer asked, running into the room. "Oh!" The young woman knelt by Asoka, and her brown eyes widened. "Bring her to the infirmary!"

"Thank you, Tamara!" Atem said; feeling like a silent battle was waging inside him.

Seto stepped forward, and looked down at Tamara with what could only be described as a loving expression. "I'll help," he said, as he walked over to Tamara.

"Atem! Take her, will you? Seto and I will meet you there, and get everything prepared!" With that, Tamara grabbed Seto and hauled him off to the infirmary.

Atem stared at Asoka, and slowly leaned out to pick her up gently in his arms. _This is all my fault,_ Atem suddenly thought to himself. _Because of me this happened! _Atem blinked his violet eyes and he followed Tamara and Seto towards the infirmary. Secretly, he was jealous of his cousin and the love he had found with Tamara.

"Atem! Put her here, and for goodness sake hurry up!" Tamara said as Atem walked in, her brown eyes blinking twice before she quickly pulled her own black/brown hair into a band, so that she could see her work better. "Stand back!" Tamara commanded, and Seto and Atem stepped back to let her work.

A couple minutes later, Tamara proclaimed herself finished. "I don't know when she'll wake up," the healer commented. "Only that she's not going to die from that wound. What happened, though? I mean… something like that doesn't happen by accident!"

"It was Anzu," Atem said with burning violet eyes, as he pulled up a stool and sat down beside where Asokas' still form still lay, in a void of black sleep.

"That bitch!" Tamara swore, and Seto glanced at her with amusement. Tamara smiled back and him, and walked over to kiss him once gently. Atem felt the familiar feeling of jealousy rise up, as he watched his cousin kiss Tamara back. Though they had been together for nearly two years, Atem still couldn't shake that feeling. He mentally stabbed the green-eyed monster that was sitting on his shoulder, and was momentarily satisfied when it disappeared.

"Yes," Atem said evenly, a frown creasing his brow. "And I can't help but think that it was my fault."

"It couldn't have been your fault, Atem. That bitch was probably planning it from the beginning!" Seto said, arching his brow.

"Yes," Tamara agreed.

A small smile pulled at the edges of Atems' mouth, but his still looked fairly angry.

"We'll let her rest!" Tamara said, her brown eyes serious. Seto nodded, and the two of them left the room. Atem, however, sat in the chair by Asokas' bedside. He didn't want her waking up in a strange place, and finding out that no one was there.

_I'll have to keep my distance,_ Atem thought sadly. _I will not let her come to more harm because of me._ With that last thought, Atem drifted into a deep, but troubled sleep.

___________________________________________

//Asoka//

Asoka woke up to find herself in a strange room. Some hieroglyphics decorated the walls, but other then that it was bare, save for the table-like bed things, with had some sheets draped over them.

_Where am I? Why am I here?_ Asoka thought, looking out one of the small windows to see the sun rising in the sky, casting its colored lights, which streamed through the entrance and danced around the room. Suddenly, they illuminated a new profile; that of a young man, who was asleep in the chair next to the bed.

_Atem?_ Asoka blinked, and the memories of the night before came crashing over her like a giant boulder. _Damn that Anzu!_ Asoka made a move to get out of bed, but this cause a tremor of pain to shoot up her arm, and flood the rest of her body. Asoka let out a pained whimpered, and frowned. Why was she being so helpless? Plenty of men had worse injuries than she!

"Asoka?" A voice said, and Asoka looked over to see the Pharaoh, with his violet eyes opening drowsily. "Asoka?"

"Yes?" Asoka said, blinking her azure eyes.

"You are awake!" Atem said, and suddenly he looked wide awake.

"Yes, I am," Asoka said lamely. "Is this the infirmary?"

"That it is," Atem replied steadily. His violet eyes suddenly grew cold, for reasons Asoka could not comprehend.

"Atem?" Asoka asked, and the Pharaoh fixated her with his penetrating stare. Without a word, he got up and left the room. Asoka, bewildered, confused, and for some reason, hurt, could only watch his retreating form. _What did I do?_

"Excuse me, miss?" A new voice said, and a girl around Asokas' age poked her head into the room. "Oh, good! You ARE awake!" The girl chirped happily, as she ran towards the stunned Asoka, throwing her arms around the young minor noble.

"Um… sorry, but you are?" Asoka asked awkwardly.

"Oh; sorry! I'm Mana, Mahado's apprentice!" Mana said, smiling so brightly that Asoka could not help but smile back. "I heard what happened in the dining room! Did Anzu REALLY do that?"

"Yes," Asoka said, looking down at the bandages on her arm. She was still confused and hurt over the Pharaohs behavior, but chose not to display that.

"Was it scary? Were you scared?" Mana asked with wide eyes.

"A little, yes. I was more afraid that Atem-err, the Pharaoh was going to hurt her at first. But then I got so angry myself, I felt like I was about to strangle her myself when she cut me!"

"Yes. He got really angry then," Mana nodded her head. "Rarely does he get so publicly angry."

"How do you know?"

"I've been friends with Atem for years, ever since we were children!" Mana declared.

"Oh. So you two are just friends?" Asoka could not help but feel a little relieved, and confused over how they had just remained friends.

"Yep. We're like siblings, you know?" Mana smiled. "At least Anzu's gone, though!"

"Yeah… say Mana, what happened after I, you know…"

"Passed out?" Mana asked. "Atem yelled at Isis to call Tamara, the healer! Then he carried you here himself!" Mana made a point of poking Asoka in the side, and giggling. "He stayed here all night. Wanted to make sure you were okay!"

"Huh. He sure has a funny way of doing that," Asoka said darkly.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I asked him if this was the infirmary. Ate-the Pharaoh said it was, then got this cold look in his eyes and just… got up and left!" Asoka explained in exasperation. Mana frowned.

"Oh."

"Yeah," Asoka said, moving to get out of the bed. Slipping her feet over the side, Asoka slipped onto the cold floor of the palace. "He probably blames me for what happened," she said darkly.

"Oh, Atem's a fair guy. He doesn't blame you, just has a lot of things to worry about right now. There's a good possibility of Anzus' country invading Egypt, now!" Mana explained. "But enough of that sour talk. Come on! I'll show you the gardens! You haven't been here long enough to see them."

"Alright," Asoka said, smiling despite herself and letting Mana dragged her off to lord knows where.

___________________________________________

//Atem//

Atem said, as he moved down to his own chambers. He couldn't get the hurt look that had crossed over Asokas' face out of his mind, making him wince. He knew this was best, though. Anzu would be dead set against him, now, and he couldn't let anything else happen to Asoka, as a result of his personal quarrel with Anzu and her family.

_I'll just have to bear it. She'll move on, there are many of men who would kill for a chance at her._ Atem tried to comfort himself with this thought. No doubt she was angry, as he himself would be if someone had done what he had done to Asoka, to him.

_It's for the best._ Atem thought, opening the door to his room and moving over to the balcony, overlooking the city and desert.

_Though it will be hard, I must not think of myself. I must think of her. I will NOT let her come to harm because of me._ Atem closed his violet eyes, and sighed deeply.

_Even if it means I must suffer myself._

__________________________________________________________________

Cheyenne: That chapter was short, and for that I apologize ^^ I have some other stuff planned, and it would be better if I put it in a separate chapter. =D


	6. Chapter 5: Hidden Passions

Cheyenne: Ooooo! Does Atem have some secret feelings for Asoka?

Atem: …

Cheyenne: xD Anyways. I have some… ideas for this chapter ^^

Atem: Great.

Cheyenne: I'm sorry if I'm going a little bit too fast for people, I'm just getting SO EXITED writing this series ^^ After I'm done, you can bet I'll be starting another one of my own =D *Is getting bashed with shield by Artemis for giving away plot points.* I'll stop that now xP *Fends off Artemis with blue, non-shiny sword.*

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//Asoka//

It had been one year since the scene in the infirmary. Asokas' wound had healed nicely, but it had left a scare on her forearm. She and Mana had grown into close friends; and she had no further contact with the Pharaoh other than the occasional casual hello in the hallways. Asoka had resumed her studies, and the threat of Anzu invading Egypt became more and more remote, until it had been completely forgotten. Or…mostly forgotten. It had been a sunny day, in which Asoka and Mana had decided to go out to the garden and weave necklaces out of flowers. A hobby that both had found to be comforting, though Asoka had no knowledge of how Mana had come up with this is the first place. It was during one of these sessions that Asoka had decided to bring up a matter which had been on her mind lately.

"I can't shake off the feeling that something's going to happen soon, you know? Every now-and-then, I see a shadow flitter across the wall. As if someone's there! But when I turn…" Asoka shook her head.

"Oh, it's probably just your eyes playing tricks on you!" Mana replied brightly, weaving a purple-colored flower into her band.

"Maybe," Asoka said with a sad smile. "But it's not just that. I've been having these… dreams."

"Dreams?" Mana asked, lifting her head full of wild brown hair to gaze levelly at Asoka.

"Maybe not dreams. They're more like… nightmares." Asokas' azure eyes were visibly distressed.

"Explain," Mana said with a slight frown. She had heard Mahado and Isis talking about visions that Isis had seen through the Millennium Necklace.

"In my dreams-err, nightmares; It's always bright. The sun shines, and everyone is happy. You're in there, Mana." Asoka smiled at her friend, and Mana smiled back, though she wasn't entirely sure this was a good thing, if this dream was to become a nightmare.

"What comes next?" Mana asked cautiously, her brown eyes wary.

"Then… I don't know. It's like this crashing darkness comes down on us all! Immediately, all the lights go out. The only source coming from torches, which is being carried by people on horseback. They run through the streets of the village, setting fire to everything! In the dream, I'm…" Asoka stopped, and blushed. In her dream, she was always standing on the Pharaohs balcony. Atem himself was always there beside her, and they had been staring out into the desert when they had first noted the disturbance.

"You're what?" Mana prompted.

"I'm…up on a balcony, watching the desert when they first flood the city. In only a matter of moments, chaos of all forms ensues. Prisoners are taken, and… the palace is stormed. Next thing I know is that I'm running from the room I had been in, down the hallways. The men are everywhere! Pillaging, plundering. The seven High Priests and Priestess… they don't have time to use their Millennium Items. Though they (the keepers of the Millennium Items) all manage to escape…"

"What is it?" Mana asked, feeling sick. While Isis had foreseen darkness, it had not been nearly as clear as what Asoka was describing to her.

"I don't know. It ends there. I always wake up…" Asoka blinked, and suddenly she was aware of a new presence.

"Is there anything else you remember?" A new voice asked.

"Hi Atem!" Mana said, smiling brightly at the Pharaoh who smiled back hesitantly. Asoka frowned at him. She still hadn't figured out why he had acted so strangely that one day, and why he had barely spoken a word to her since.

_________________________________________

//Atem//

It almost killed the Pharaoh to see Asoka look at him like that, but he forced himself to stare her in the eyes, careful to keep his own perfectly concealed.

"Hello, Mana." Atem returned his friends greeting without looking away from Asoka. He knew he couldn't hide from her forever. For two months, he had avoided telling her the truth, why he had acted the way he had.

"Hello, Pharaoh." It stung to hear how cold Asokas' voice was, and Atem could still detect her hurt.

"Asoka," Atem greeted cordially.

"No, there is nothing else I remember!" Asoka said, breaking eye contact and returning to weaving a flower into her necklace.

"Which rooms were you in? There are a couple of rooms with balconies." Atem asked.

"What's it to you?" Asoka said, with a faint flush to her cheeks.

"I just wanted to know, that's all. It could help us if this is indeed a vision."

"What if I don't remember?" Asoka snapped.

"You're lying."

"Maybe I am! But I'M not the one that's been ignoring you for a whole freaking year!" Asoka stood up, leaving her half-woven necklace on the floor of the garden as she walked out. Had she stayed a little longer, or had she looked back, she would have seen the hurt and regret reflected in the Pharaohs violet eyes.

_Good Ra. What have I done?_

_________________________________________

//Asoka//

Before her anger and sorrow overwhelmed her, Asoka managed to glide down the torch-lit hallways to her room.

"Damnit, Ra!" Asoka cried as she stumbled into her chambers, and sat down on the edge of her bed. Only moments away from a point where Asoka feared she'd break down, a knock on the door startled her.

"Yes?" Asoka said, blinking rapidly to clear her eyes.

"Mistress?" The door opened to reveal one of the slave-girls. "The Pharaoh has summoned you to his chambers."

"Tell the Pharaoh I decline!" Asoka said hotly.

"He was most insistent. Said there was something important he needed to tell you, if I got the message right."

"Fine," Asoka sighed, stepped gently over to the door and opening it the rest of the way; before she stepped out and closed it behind her. "I can find the way myself." Smiling as sweetly as she could, Asoka started towards where she had been when she stumbled upon Atem and Anzu arguing, all those months ago. Following her exact footsteps, Asoka retraced her path to the Pharaohs door. Knocking on it softly, she waited until she heard Atems' voice tell her to come in, before entering. Asoka opened the door a crack, and poked her head full of jet-black hair in.

Sitting upon his bed, the Pharaoh was resting his forehead in his hands, breathing deeply. Asoka was surprised. He actually looked… upset! Asoka waited for him to say something, but when he didn't she supposed it was her turn.

"I could shove her off a cliff for you?" Asoka chose the same words she had used last time, and it got the needed affect.

"Asoka?" The Pharaoh said, lifting his tanned face from his hands.

"You summoned me?" Asoka was careful to keep her voice flat now.

"Yes, I… there are a couple of things I think I should explain. Stuff I should have explained a year ago."

"Well, what is it?" Asoka asked. Atem gestured for her to come in, and close the door. Asoka did so, and something caught her eye. The balcony! She moved swiftly towards it, and gazed out upon the sun-kissed desert. The sky was stretched with shades of blue, orange, pink, and purple. Asoka sighed. "It's exactly how…" Asoka trailed off, aware that she had almost revealed the location of her dream.

Atem stepped over to her, until he was standing right behind her. "Asoka, I haven't been truthful with you. You want to know why I've ignored you for a whole year?" He smiled faintly. "I was afraid."

"Afraid? Afraid of what?" Asoka asked, not taking her eyes off the horizon.

"Afraid of myself."

"Why?" Now Asoka turned to face the Pharaoh, and to her surprise she found him closer than she'd thought. "A-Atem, I-I…"

"Please, don't apologize. I'm the one that should say sorry. I'm been truly horrible towards you." Atem bowed his head, and his violet eyes looked remorseful.

"But I must have done something," Asoka said, returning her azure gaze back to the horizon.

"You did nothing wrong," Atem said, and Asoka noticed that his voice had grown soft. "In fact… you've done almost everything right."

"What, then?" Asoka began to ask, but when cut off when Atems' soft lips brushed against her own. Asoka widened her eyes in surprise.

Atem stepped back. One of his front blonde spikes fell in front of his eyes as he began to speak again: "I'm sorry Asoka, I should not have done that I just had to-"

"No," Asoka murmured, brushing away the blonde spike, before she moved forward, and reached her hand up to gently pulled Atem towards her. She kissed him again, this time pouring all her fire and passion into it. She sighed blissfully as his hands slid up into her hair, and he returned the kiss with his own passion. Asoka smiled. She never wanted this moment to end. The moment was so right, as was the location. The whole city of the Pharaoh stretched out in front of them, and beyond that, the endless stretch of desert sand. Everything was perfect, and then…

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Cheyenne: Annnd that's where I'm going to stop it ^^ Hope ya'll enjoyed it! I apologize for the fact that it was really short.


	7. Chapter 6: Prisoner of War?

Cheyenne: Whoo! I'm sorry, I WAS going to wait until tomorrow but I just COULDN'T! The urge to write is too strong! *Gets sucked into a void of writing madness… and stuff* thanks for the comments =D *Watched in satisfaction as Anzu falls off a cliff, and grins happily*

Atem: *Muttering* Since she's too lazy to do the disclaimer herself…

Asoka: Yu-Gi-Oh does NOT belong to Cheyenne, no matter how much she wishes it did =)

Cheyenne: And to Natoya: I like your idea! Cast Weevil as the bug-man-person-thing!!! I haven't watched the movie in a few years, so I'm forgetting some names ^^

________________________________________________________________

//Asoka//

"ATEM!" Asoka suddenly cried out, her own scream accompanied by the sudden shrieks of countless others as a black column of smoke appeared in the sky. The sun had set, and now the world had been plunged into complete darkness, save the torches that dimply lit the halls, and something else. A large grouping of light could be seen at the beginning of the city, where most of the cries seemed to be coming from. Asoka watched in horror as the fiery lights suddenly spread, sweeping through the city as a slight breeze decided to blow through.

"What is it?" Atem asked, immediately alerted to the tone of voice Asoka had used. "Good Ra…"

"This is just like my dream!" Asoka said, moving inside Atem's room and sitting down on the bed. "We must warn the others, right away!" Asoka ran a brush through her hair. Once it was smooth enough, she quickly braided it into one long, black braid which dangled down to the middle of her back. She knew it seemed vain, but she would be able to see, and defend herself better than if her hair had been down.

"Asoka?" Atem asked. He had buckled a sword to his waist, and his violet eyes were looking at her. "If something happens…"

"Please, don't!" Asoka said, standing up and moving over to him. She kissed him once more, and both their eyes filled with emotions that neither could put to words.

"I'll see you soon!" Atem said, walking toward his bedroom door, flinging it open, and disappearing down the hallway.

Asoka watched him go, and her eyes roamed to a dagger Atem had left on a small table. Picking it up, and buckling the strap it was attached to, too her waist; Asoka ran out of the room as well.

__________________________________________

//Attackers// ((This section of the chapter will be written from a general point of view, showing what is going on with the attacks, for those who might get confused ^^))

"Storm the palace!" A figure in a black coat yelled, glaring down at the foot soldiers. "Let no one escape! Take prisoners, and kill those you have to! Remember, they want Her alive! CHARGE!" With that, a storm of warriors moved forward. Ruthless in their conquest and prepared to do whatever it took to win.

________________________________________________________________

Asoka ran down the hallways of the palace, until she found a thicket of battle in the throne room. The guards were trying to hold back a wave of men, but Asoka knew they couldn't hold them much longer. Asoka looked up, seeing nothing she could use to block the path of the invaders. Instead, her azure eyes glinted with grim determination as she watched the invaders break through, killing all the guards they could.

_Damnit!_ Asoka narrowed her eyes as she thought this. She wasn't just going to stand here and do nothing! Pulling a ceremonial sword off the wall, Asoka leapt forward, jabbing the tip into the side of an unsuspecting soldier.

"So the girly wants to play, huh?" A man sneered behind Asoka, and she spun around just in time to lift her hand, and deflect a downward blow. Falling backwards onto the ground from the impact, Asoka pushed back against the soldiers blade with all her might.

"Argh!" Asoka spat as both her own blade and the invading soldiers' blade drew closer to her body, until she felt like her arm was going to drop off. Just as she was about to drop her arm from exhaustion, another sword slipped in between the two and flicked the invaders away so fast that the soldier had no time to react.

"Atem!" Asoka cried in relief, as the young Pharaoh reached out a hand to pull her up.

"I've alerted the council! They're going to try and use the-"

"Atem, behind you!" Asoka yelled out, cutting him off and leaping behind him to try and deflect a blow from a figure in a black cloak. The impact of steel jarred her arms, and she could feel her body vibrating violently. "Ra, damnit!" Asoka shouted, as the sword dropped from her hands with a clatter towards the floor.

"I found you!" The stranger hissed, grabbing Asoka by the arm and yanking her up.

"Let her go!" Atems' voice was like ice, and his violet eyes flashed dangerously. "Let her go NOW!"

"Make me, pretty boy!" The cloaked figured laughed, dragging Asoka with him as he started running for the exit.

"LET ME GO YOU BASTARD!" Asoka screamed, writhing and twisting. But her limbs felt weak, and she could not break free.

"ASOKA!" Asoka heard Atem call out her name, and she saw her love start running towards her before the cloaked man snapped his fingers, causing the other battling intruders to surround him as he fled into the flame-lit night.

________________________________________________________________

"ASOKA!" Atem cried out, as the strange man dragged the young girl away. Picking up his sword, he ran towards them only to find his path blocked by dozens of intruding soldiers. Suddenly, he noticed a seal on one of their uniforms, and his violet eyes filled with rage, and hatred.

"Your highness!" Atem heard Mahado called out as the remaining intruders retreated at their leaders (the guy in the black cloaks) orders. The other six keepers followed him.

"They got her!" Atem felt like punching a wall, but he knew that wouldn't help Asoka.

"Who?" Asked Shada.

"Asoka," Isis whispered to him.

"Did I miss something, here?" Seto demanded gruffly.

"Who's they?" Mahado cut off their overlapped conversations, and stared at the young Pharaoh.

"Anzu and her bloody wretched henchmen!"

________________________________________________________________

"LET ME GO! I'LL KILL YOU!" Asoka screamed as the Man-In-Black hauled her upon his black stallion like a bag of seed.

"Yell all you like; it's not going to change a thing!" The man laughed, and snapped his fingers at the other men that surrounded him. "Come on! We must inform princess Anzu that we have triumphed!"

"ANZU?" Asoka's azure eyes blazed like a wildfire. "That bitch! I changed my mind, I'll kill _her_ in_stead_!" The man only laughed, and spurred his horse into action as they started riding towards the main gates to the city.

Thinking quickly, Asoka realized that the man had neglected to bind her in any way. She looked up. If she was going to escape, it would have to be now! Timing her jump so she wouldn't become trampled by other horses, Asoka slid off the back of the black stallion and landed in a dust pile on the ground. Standing up, she began to run as one of the invaders saw her escaped.

"Bakura, the prisoner's escaping!" He called, and the man with the black cloak looked back. "Damnit! Well, don't just stand there like imbeciles! _Go after her_!"

"Yes sir!" A couple of the men yelped and leapt off their horses, drawing their swords as they pursued Asoka through the literally blazing streets. Fire licked at the roofs of buildings, and fed off of the herbs and plants in people's yards and gardens.

"And for Ra's sake, leave her alive!" Bakura called after them.

Asoka let out a scream as one of the guards lunged and grabbed her ankle. Falling over with a cry, Asoka kicked and his savagely until he released her. Asoka scrambled up, and turned into an alley way only to discover that it was a dead end. "No!" She shrieked as the other guard came up to her, and raised his sword; looking about ready to strike her down until an arrow pierced the mans hand and he screamed in pain.

"Idiot! I told you to leave her alive!" Asoka turned to see the man-in-black at the entrance to the alley, with a bow-and-arrow in his hands. Walking slowly; and deliberately towards Asoka, he fixing her with a penetrating gaze. His hood had fallen back, revealing a mass of silvery-white spiked hair.

"I see now that I should have restrained you, though I didn't think you'd be stupid enough to even attempt an escape!" Reaching forward, Bakura grabbed Asoka's wrist and dragged her towards his horse. As he got there, he pulled out a length of rope and tied Asoka's wrists together, before taking the other end of the rope and fastening it securely to himself so she could not escape. Hauling Asoka onto the horse, Bakura climbed up himself, and started to ride again. Asoka watched through tear-stained eyes as the city containing her heart faded into the distance, before the movements of the horse threw her into a dark, and tormented sleep.

________________________________________________________________

Cheyenne: Anzu that's b-witch! HOW DARE SHE KIDNAPP ASOKA?

Atem: *Enraged facial expression*

Asoka: ARGH!

Cheyenne: Anyways, sorry for the wait! I had to think about whom I wanted the hooded figure to be xD Next chapter'll be out soon! Sorry that this chapter was so short, too. They'll get longer, though. I promise!


	8. Chapter 7: Insulting a Monarch

Cheyenne: Nya! We have now gone into… Chapter 7!! DunDunDuuunnnnnnnnn!! Disclaimer, Yu-Gi-Oh (unfortunately) does not belong to me.

Atem: *Rolls eyes*

Cheyenne: You're just happy I didn't release the chapter six until earlier yesterday because you got to stay with Asoka longer, and now you're mad because in the last Chapter… well, you know.

Atem: That pretty much sums it up.

Asoka: *Blushes*

Cheyenne: I might add another chapter to Just One Bite later, as well.

Vampire Asoka: And you couldn't think up a different name for me.

Cheyenne: Don't worry. I'm probably going to end up just calling you Tamara for awhile xD And Artemis, if you are reading this, what I just said is NOT giving away the plot, 'kayz?

James: Weee!!

Cheyenne: HEY!! GET BACK INTO YOUR STORY!

Vampire Asoka (Tamara): *Rolls eyes, and mutters* I'll take him. *Drags James by the back of his collar back to their story*

Cheyenne: Good. Now, I'm going to stop prolonging my crappy typing skills, and inflict it upon you all!!! MWAH HA HA!!! Except for Natoya and Alice456 (Obvs.) ^^ Because they're nice peoples =D *Looks at Artemis* Hint hint. Just kidding xD

Aaaaanyways, on with the story!! *Is secretly dreading school, which is starting on MONDAY! NOOO!!!!*

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Asoka opened her eyes, and was immediately greeted with the blurry sky above her. Groaning, she sat up. _If this is Mana's idea of a joke, it's not a very good one!_ She moved to rub her eyes with her left hand, but found that as she did so, her right hand came up with it. _What in Ra's name…_ Asoka started thinking, but then the events of yesterday caught up with her and she gasped.

"Ah. Awake, are we?" Asoka spun around and found herself starring into a pair of eyes that were so brown, that if you didn't bother to look close enough; they'd appear more black than not. Letting out a startled noise, Asoka scooted backwards a bit. Her captor laughed, and Asoka remembered his name was Bakura, and that he was working for Anzu. _That no-good, flat-headed…_ A whole list of insults ran through Asoka's mind, and she found that whole train of thought led her to just one word. _Bitch._ Asoka narrowed her azure eyes at Bakura, and was secretly thankful she had chosen to wrap her hair into a tight braid before leaving. Bakura just chuckled, and pulled at the rope that bound Asoka's hands, forcing her to fall onto the hot sand. Asoka spat angrily, and struggled until she had pulled herself to her feet. Bakura only laughed, and pulled her down again from where he sand on a patch of sand, shaded by his black stallion.

"Damn you!" Asoka spat, reaching for a handful of sand to throw in his face.

Bakura just laughed. "You have fire, I'll grant you that."

Asoka threw the sand, but with bound hands, it blew to Bakura's left, missing him completely. Asoka muttered another unladylike word, and bowed her head in anger.

"Sir, we really must get a move on before the sun rises too high!" One of the soldiers said, and Bakura nodded his head once.

"Come on then!" Bakura hissed at the men, and dragged Asoka up to her feet before slinging her over the horse again. "If we hurry, we can reach the palace by the time the sun is centered in the sky." Bakura yelled out something, and the horses spurred into action as the renegade of soldiers moved across the desert.

Asoka soon lost track of time, slipping into both daydreams, and memories. _Atem…_ Images of the Pharaoh's soft violet eyes filled her mind, and she remembered how he had kissed her on the balcony. Asoka blinked, trying to clear her misty eyes. _I'll kill Anzu,_ she thought. _And I'd like to see someone try and stop me!_

=Two hours of riding later=

"Open the gates!" A voice shouted, startling Asoka out of her revere, and she looked up and saw a huge wall stretching in front of her. Instead, Asoka knew, would be a city. Bakura gave the orders, and the other men and their horses trotted inside once the doors to the city opened. Asoka's gasped despite herself as she caught a glimpse of the city. It wasn't as magnificent as the city of the Pharaoh, but it was still breath taking.

"Get used to it, girl!" Bakura said with a growl. "It's not like you'll ever be leaving!"

"What? No!" Asoka said as her eyes widened. Suddenly though, she felt like a complete idiot._ I do NOT just forget about it all this time! How could I be so stupid?_ Asoka carefully drew the dagger she had grabbed from Atem's room. The blade was stainless steel, and the hilt was gold encrusted with rubies, and a sapphire. An intricate design swirled around the top of the hilt, which connected to the blade. Asoka debated. If she could use it to escape, maybe she could hide it again so that the soldiers couldn't take it from her…

Asoka was so busy planning, she didn't notice when Bakura walked up to another man with wild, spiky platinum blonde hair.

"Tell Anzu I've brought her. She has to let Ryou go now!" Asoka was almost startled at the tone of Bakura's voice. Who was Ryou? And why is it that she got the impression that this Ryou (whoever he was) was important to Bakura somehow?

"Good." The other man sounded relieved, too. "She promised she'd give him back if we got the girl…"

"We've done what she's asked; there should be no reason for her to keep him any longer, Marik!" Bakura argued.

"Yes," the other man, Marik, replied.

_Them?_ Asoka asked herself, and then shook her head. _Damn!_ Without realizing it, they had arrived at the palace, and Asoka's chance to run had come and gone. Now, she had nothing to do but close her eyes, and await her fate.

________________________________________________________________

//Atem//

"We have to go after her!" Atem yelled, leaping out of his throne and pacing restlessly in front of it.

"But sire, if it is indeed Anzu who has done so…"

"Did I SAY I gave a DAMN? We need to go after Asoka, Anzu or no Anzu!" Atem's eyes blazing and his voice echoed through the room.

"Please, Pharaoh. Calm down!" Seto said.

"No, I will NOT calm down! How would YOU feel if the same thing happened to Tamara?!" Atem shouted, and that shut Seto up promptly.

"Sire, you need to think of what's best for your country-" Mahado started to say, and Atem rounded on his priest.

"Do you honestly think they'll stop there? If they come here just for the purpose of stealing Asoka and wreaking havoc, what on earth makes you think they won't try and CONQUER us eventually?" Atem fumed, but he worked on calming himself down.

"Atem is right," Shada suddenly said with a nod. "If we don't do something…"

"I got an idea!" Mana suddenly piped up from where she had been standing next to Mahado.

"What is it?" Atem frowned.

"I just thought that if we thought hard enough, there might be a way for us to infiltrate the city! Maybe a small group of people in disguise could sneak into the city, and gain access to the palace? We could rescue Asoka from there! Of course, they will surely find out and then they'll probably attack us again, but while the small party is off to rescue Asoka in the first place… maybe we could pick up something crucial? Either way, the people left here can think up an effect defense plan!" Everyone looked stunned as Mana finished her speech, and the young magician in training blushed. "I-It was just an idea…"

"And a perfectly brilliant one at that!" Atem said, and Mahado beamed at his student.

"Well, we should get on it right away!" Atem said.

"Who should go and infiltrate the palace?"

A wicked gleam appeared in Atem's eyes as Seto asked that. "I will."

"And he's not going anywhere without me!" Mana said fiercely, and Atem nodded.

"We got ourselves a plan then, it seems. Come on! That bloody bitch Anzu won't know what hit her!"

________________________________________________________________

//Asoka//

A cruel, annoying shriek of laughter lanced through the room. Wait, make that:

Someone seemed to be strangling a cat nearby, for it's shrieking echoed through the room. Or maybe it was just Anzu laughing. Either way, it made Asoka's blood boil.

"Not so high-and-mighty now, are you?" Anzu sneered. Asoka gritted her teeth irately. She knew that nothing she could say would convince Anzu that Asoka had anything to do with Atem rejecting her (at least at the time). Instead, she resorted to wit, or at least petty insults.

"A-Anzu!" Asoka stuttered, pretending to be surprised. "Anzu, what's that?"

"What?" Anzu frowned, and Asoka grinned evilly.

"That huge wart above your neck! Oh wait my mistake! That's your face!"

"HOW DARE YOU?!" Anzu's voice thundered throughout the throne room. "When my daddy gets back, he'll-"

"Still complaining to your daddy? Not enough guts to handle something by yourself?" Asoka snarled, taking a step towards Anzu. She was startled when Bakura laid a warning hand on her shoulder, and she was even more surprised to see him look up at Anzu with what could only be interpreted as pure hatred.

"Alright, Anzu! I gave you what you wanted; now give me back my Ryou!" Bakura fumed.

"Oh, quite the contrary!" Anzu tittered, not noticing Asoka break free of Bakura's grip and yanking the rope away from the man, who was looking too enraged to pay attention. Slowly, Asoka made her way up beside Anzu, who was being an idiot and basking in self-glory while she closed her eyes and tittered some more.

"I've taken quite a liking to young Ryou! I think I'll keep him here."

"You…you-!" Bakura couldn't even finish the sentence.

_Okay, _Asoka thought. _I don't like Bakura, but even HE doesn't deserve THIS!_ Tapping Anzu on the shoulder until she turned her head to her left to see who it was, Asoka landed a punch to her square in the nose.

"Bitch!" Asoka screamed, as Anzu covered her bloody nose and squealed. Even Bakura looked shocked!

"Guards! Throw her in the slave quarters!" Anzu called, pointing at Asoka before squealing and whining her nose.

Asoka struggled, but finally stopped as the guards dragged her from the room, down the hallways and corridors, until they threw her into a bland, small room with some beds slabs.

"You bastards I'll get you for this!" Asoka yelled, shaking her fists at them as they left. "Tell that bitchy leader of yours to learn the meaning of the word promise!" Asoka didn't know much, but she knew Bakura had been forced into kidnapping her to gain back someone called: 'Ryou.'

"Tell her to give Ryou back to Bakura!" Asoka knew it was pointless, but she needed to let off some steam. Suddenly, someone tapped her on the shoulder and Asoka whirled around until she found herself starring into the soft brown eyes of a boy about her age, who also had snow-white hair. Asoka blinked rapidly.

_How the hell did Bakura get down here?_ She thought before realizing that this wasn't Bakura at all.

"Hello, my name's Ryou."


	9. Chapter 8: Moonlight Secrets

Cheyenne: Whoo! Chapter 8! Atem?

Atem: Disclaimer--

Asoka: Cheyenne does not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

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//Atem//

"When will the plans be ready?" Atem looked from where he had been sitting in his throne, seemingly staring at one of the hieroglyphics. He turned to the speaker, his cousin's young wife, Tamara.

"Soon," the young Pharaoh replied with a smirk. "Actually, they are ready. I was talking to the Keepers about them, and-"

"Oh, yes!" Mana said, running into the thrown room. "I heard them talking, and we should be able to rescue her soon. A month at the most, and the minimum would be a week."

Atem's face darkened in anger, and he stood up, out of his throne. He would MUCH rather be out right now, preferably stabbing Anzu multiple times with a sword. Atem sighed.

"Alright. But I want to leave as soon as possible!" The Pharaoh said, standing up.

"I know," Mana said, nodding solemnly. "I want to see her again, too."

"We all do," Isis said as she walked in. "We just have to be a little more patient. Besides, I hear she was able to do some damage during the battle. She won't let Anzu do anything to her without a fight!"

"Indeed," Atem chuckled, when a knock at the door startled him out of his amusement.

"Open the door," Isis commanded the guards. In reply, the guards swung the great doors open, to reveal a man in a black cloak.

"Pharaoh Atem. I bring you news," the man said.

"You!" Atem yelled, drawing his sword as he recognized the man who had stolen Asoka. "You DARE show your face in my kingdom after what you have done?"

"Yeah!" Mana echoed angrily, but she could have sworn she saw the man smirking under his cloak.

"Here me out great Pharaoh. I did what I did for a reason, for that bitch Anzu has stolen away my lover as well! As it were, I know where Asoka is, and I will bring you to her. All I ask is that you trust me!" The man said.

"Why should I? For all I know, you could turn around and kill me at any moment!" Atem snarled.

"Perhaps I would, great Pharaoh, but you don't know that. I consider my Ryou to be more important right now, so is it a deal?"

Atem looked to Mana and Isis for help.

"I sense no deception from this man," Isis said. "And my necklace told me he'd come again. For Asokas' sake, I think you should agree."

"Yes Atem, for Asoka!" Mana voiced her opinion, and Atem turned back to the man, sheathing his sword.

"Very well, sir. But I assure you that if you try anything, you'll be dead faster than you can say anything! I'll do this for Asokas' sake. It's a deal." Atem walked over to the man, and held out one of his hands. The man reached out, and shook it firmly.

"What may I call you?" Atem asked.

"Bakura," the stranger replied. "Just Bakura."

________________________________________________________________

//Asoka//

"Ryou?" She asked, peering at him closely.

"You know Bakura?" Ryou's eyes were wide and hopeful. Asoka nodded.

"Yeah, he's the one who freaking BROUGHT me here! Against my will, might I add?"

Ryou flinched. "Sorry, I-"

"Why are you sorry?" Asoka looked baffled.

"Umm… I don't really know…"

"They stop apologizing for things that aren't your fault, 'kay? Besides, I hold no grudge against Bakura anymore. Anzu was supposed to return you, wasn't she?" Asoka asked suddenly, a note of sadness in her voice.

"Y-yes," Ryou stammered. "Is she not going to?" His eyes got wide and fearful. "I don't want to go back! It's hard enough to fight her advances, which is why I'm hiding down here!"

"That bitch!" Asoka fumed, leaping to her feet as she heard what Ryou said. Her wavy midnight hair fell down to the middle of her back, like a dark halo. Her azure eyes flashed dangerously, and she began to pace the length of the slaves' quarters.

Ryou mumbled something inarticulate, before he looked up at the angry woman. "Please, you're making me a little dizzy…"

"Damn! Sorry, Ryou," Asoka said as she sat down on the cold floor.

"S'okay."

"Ryou, is there anyone else I should be pre-warned about?" Asoka then asked, staring at the young man.

Ryou looked extremely uncomfortable. "Yes," he said after a moment, crossing his legs and staring briefly at the floor.

"What is it?" Asoka asked, her expression softening.

"Anzu has a brother," Ryou sighed. "And… I think I'd be best if you kept as far away from him as you can."

"Oh… Oh!" Asoka squeaked in horror, pulling her legs up to her chest and hugging herself tightly.

"Sorry," Ryou mumbled. Asoka shot him a small, swift glare.

"Again with the sorry thing?" She said before sighing. "Okay, so… I'll keep my distance! No big deal, I'll just-"

"You can be sure that Anzu wants this to happen, Asoka. She WANTS her brother to see you. She knows he won't be able to resist you, and that even though she knows you'd fight…" Ryou blushed deeply, looking more then a little embarrassed.

"Shit!" Asoka whispered, her eyes hardening. With a sly smile, she pulled out her dagger. The rubies and sapphires glinted on the hilt, and when the blade caught on a patch of sunlight it reflected some light into the dark room.

"Where in Ra's name did you get that?" Ryou breathed.

Asoka hesitated, but then figured it would be okay to tell him. "I found it on a small table in Atem's palace."

"Pharaoh Atem? You're with the Pharaoh?" Ryou's eyes were wide again, and Asoka nodded with a faint blush.

"Yeah, I guess I am. Either way, I'm saving it so that-"

"There she is!" Asoka almost jumped out of her skin, interrupted mid-blush. Without taking the time to think, she slipped the dagger back into the waist-belt-thing, which she concealed in her dress, letting more material fall over it.

"Anzu orders that you-"

"I don't give a damn about what Anzu orders! She can go to the freaking underworld for all I care!" Asoka stood up and glared at the guards, her fists on her hips as she spat defiantly at them.

"You'll soon learn your place, slave!" The captain of the guards slapped her fitfully across the face, and the young noble whirled to the ground.

"You bastard!" Asoka leapt to her feet, and punched the guard squarely on the jaw.

"That's it!" The captain of the guards snapped his fingers, and two other guards came up behind Asoka, grabbing her arms so she could not escape.

"I hope that Anzu teaches you some respect, girl!" The Captain sneered, before he walked out of the slave quarters and towards the throne room to the palace, the guards holding Asoka trailing behind.

==In the Throne Room==

"Asoka!" Anzu said from where she was sitting upon the throne.

Asoka swallowed the growl that rose in her throat, and instead glared at the woman who had taken away all her happiness. "What do you want?"

Anzu laughed, but it sounded more like an old hags cackle.

"Listen you bitch! Unless you tell me why the hell I'm here I'll-"

"Calm yourself, Asoka. I merely brought you here to tell you that you'll be transferring." Anzu said, but the look in her eyes told Asoka she wasn't finished yet.

"Transferring?" Asoka asked, her voice guarded as she tried to keep the rising amount of fear from breaking through.

"Why yes! From this moment on you'll be assigned to my brother. I consider this… a late birthday present." Anzu grinned maliciously as Asoka visibly paled.

_No! _Asoka thought, and she could practically feel the blood draining from her face.

"Yeah, a birthday present to a prince whose birthday was six months ago!" Asoka heard one of the guards holding her say.

Asoka felt like crumpling down to the floor and begging, but her pride would not allow that. She knew that Anzu wanted her to beg, and that she would not change her decision even then. So instead, Asoka stared the tyrannical princess strait in the eyes, and nodded her head, despite her trembling.

"Get her ready! We're doing a little performance in two weeks at dinner, and I want both her and the others to be ready, and prepared!" Anzu commanded, waving her hand and doing an exaggerated yawn to show this whole thing was boring her, and clearly not thinking that two weeks would be MORE than enough time.

"Yes princess!" The guards replied as they took hold of Asoka again, and escorted her from the throne room. This time, the girl did not offer any resistance.

==Two Weeks Later==

"Thanks, Inyri." Asoka said, staring at the girl with short, curly light brown hair.

"No prob." The girl, Inyri, said with a kind smile. She was a short girl, but in the hour or two Asoka had known her, Inyri had shown herself to be sweet, and kind; but Asoka knew she wouldn't want to get on the girls bad side.

"So about this…performance?" Asoka finally asked. The question that had burned in the now-slaves mind had been bugging her since she had arrived in the new slave quarters. She wondered if Ryou was okay…

"Oh." Inyri looked pained. The young Egyptian girl seemed to portray an aura of innocence, and she looked kind of like a wounded puppy when she felt bad about something. "That… Anzu had this brilliant idea to put all her brothers' slaves in this stupid show to portray to her brother, Ryuuji Otogi ((AN: I apologize to all you Ryuuji lovers. I have nothing against him; I just couldn't find anyone else.)). God, she's such a bitch!" Inyri placed her right fist on her hip, and waved her left hand around in one circle before scowling. She, too, had been stolen from her small village in Egypt, when Anzus' brother had decided to lead a raid.

"No argument there," Asoka grinned, though her insides were in turmoil. "I just hope that…"

"You hope that he doesn't… take a fancy to you." Inyri finished sadly, her light brown eyes sad. "Sorry Asoka, but…"

"Don't say it!" Asoka said, standing up. "Just don't… say it, okay?"

"Alright," Inyri said.

"Like you two are gonna have a chance!" One of the other slaves, a girl named Katarr said. Asoka didn't like Katarr; in fact she found her attitude insufferable. However just this once, she could agree with the girl.

"I hope you're right," Asoka said, and Inyri looked at her solemnly. "He's picking four slave girls tonight, to join his… personal group."

"You mean his concubine?" Asoka snarled.

"Yeah." Inyri looked embarrassed, and Asoka smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Inyri."

"Hey, guys! Why the low faces? You should be happy! Life can only get better from now on!" One of the other female slaves called out, and Asoka buried her face in her hands.

"Not for me…"

"Oh, Asoka!" Inyri said sadly, and she walked over to Katarr, thrusting her index finger in the girls face. "You can have him all to yourself, we won't try and stop you!"

"We will!" A couple of girls giggled. "The prince is HOT!"

"Shut up!" Inyri muttered, as she walked back over to Asoka. "Asoka, they're right though. Why are you so upset? Life can get better for those who get chosen. Why wouldn't you want this opportunity?"

"Because I…" Asoka cried, tears spilling down her cheeks. "My heart already belongs to someone and that someone only. If Ryuuji were to pick me… I don't think I could fight him off!"

"Oh…" Inyri said, her brown eyes widening until she looked like a doe. "Asoka, I'm so sorry…"

"No! It's like I told Ryou. Stop saying sorry for things that aren't your fault!" Asoka said, but her tone was bitter.

"It's true, she DID tell me that." Ryou said, and Asoka's azure snapped up to see him standing in the doorway with a grin on his face.

"Ryou!" Asoka cried out happily, running over to him and hugging her friend tightly.

"Hi, Asoka!" Ryou laughed as the girl let go of him. Inyri smiled. Was this Asoka's lover?

"Ryou, what brings you here?" Asoka asked with wide eyes.

"I came to tell you something," Ryou murmured. He then looked up at Asoka and smiled slyly. "Come on!" He walked out of the room, and into a small courtyard. Asoka followed briefly, until they were both standing under a tree. The sun was setting, and colors of pink, purple, and orange streaked across the sky.

"What is it?" Asoka whispered.

"Asoka, the Pharaoh's coming!" Ryou spun around to face the girl, and Asoka's eyes widened even further.

"What?" Asoka felt like she could barely breathe.

"Yes! Apparently Bakura wasn't so happy about being cheated out of the deal," Ryou blushed. "So he traveled back to Egypt to explain to the Pharaoh what happened, before he got Marik to bring me a message saying that they were on their way to rescue us!"

"Ryou! You never told me you and Bakura were involved," she teased gently, and Ryou blushed even deeper.

"Yeah, well… he's helping the Pharaoh! They're coming to rescue us, Asoka!" Ryou grabbed Asoka hand, and the two of them laughed and swung around in a circle before getting dizzy and collapsing onto the ground, still laughing with glee.

"Oh, Ryou! Thank you so much!" Asoka said, and her eyes were misty with gratitude. "Atem is coming!" Her heart felt like it was about to burst with happiness.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Inyri blushed as she stepped forward.

"Inyri!" Asoka blushed, standing up to face her friend. "Inyri, this is Ryou. Ryou, Inyri."

"So…you and Asoka?" Inyri asked with wide eyes, which sent Ryou and Asoka into another fit of laughter.

"Oh, no! We're just friends!" Asoka giggled. NOTHING could spoil her mood right now!

"Oh. Well, hi!" Inyri smiled at Ryou, and he nodded back in greeting.

"What happened to make you two so happy?" Inyri then asked.

Asoka looked to Ryou, who looked back at her as if to say: 'It's your choice.'

Asoka took a deep breath, and whirled on her friend; piercing the girl with her intense azure stare. "What I am about to tell you, you must not tell ANYBODY, okay?"

"O-okay!" Inyri said, nodding rapidly.

"We're getting out of here!" Asoka's eyes started to sparkle, and Inyri looked confused.

"What do you mean: 'We're getting out of here?'"

"Atem's coming!" Asoka's did a small twirl of happiness, and Inyri looked at her funny.

"Who?"

"Atem! He's, umm…" Asoka blushed, and Inyri's face brightened.

"Asoka!" Inyri declared gleefully. "Is he the one? The one you were talking about earlier?"

"Yes," Asoka mumbled, looking at the ground. "And we're getting out of here. You, me, and Ryou."

"That's great, Asoka! When will he be here?"

"Umm…" Asoka looked to Ryou, who shrugged.

"I don't know, but I'm hoping it will be soon!" Asoka proclaimed. "We should get ready… just in case. We should have some stuff, ready for us to grab at a moments notice."

"Alright!" Inyri cheered, and Ryou smiled.

"Ryou, you should head back to… your slave quarters." Asoka said, and Ryou nodded.

"Yes. If they notice I'm gone…" He shook his head full of white hair, and grinned, before turning around and running back to his slave quarters.

"Come on!" Asoka grabbed Inyri's hand and dragged her back into the room with the other female slaves.

==One Hour Later==

"Is everybody ready?" Katarr asked, holding her chin up in the air. The girl was pretty, with long, strait black hair and darkly tanned skin. But her eyes were black, and sharp like a hawks. Asoka found them unnerving.

"Yes!" Inyri called, smoothing out her dress. "Oh! It's so pretty!" She cooed. Her dress was made of plain white linen, and she wore a simple beaded necklace, as did all the other slaves.

Except Asoka.

Asoka had refused to wear her new dress; instead she had pleaded with one of the other slaves, a nice, quiet girl, to repair it, which she had. Asoka had then taken it down, and washed it in the stream. The blue river embroidery around the bottom hem, and the waist of her dress emphasized the contrast of the pure white linen against her tanned Egyptian skin. While she was all in favor of looking her worst for tonight, she would need this dress to hide her dagger, which she never stopped wearing. _Plus,_ she figured, _it never hurts to look your best._ Around her neck was a simple gold chain, a gift from her father. Her wavy midnight black hair fell around her shoulders and down to the middle of her back, framing her face and azure eyes.

"Asoka!" Inyri breathed as the young noble entered the room. "You look beautiful!"

"Oh, thanks." Asoka blushed heavily, and looked at the floor. She realized that many of the girls would be suspicious of her, now. None of them knew she had once been a young noble in the palace of the Pharaoh, not even Inyri. But she also knew many would recognize the dress.

"Hmph," was all Katarr said with narrowed black eyes.

"Is everyone ready?" The guards called over a mass of giggling girls.

"Yes!" They all chorused back, but Asoka only muttered. The dagger was smug against her skin, and she held her head up. Slowly, the guards led the girls out of the room, towards the banquet hall of the palace. For many of the slaves, it was a chance to raise their status. For Asoka, she felt like she was walking towards her doom.

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Cheyenne: And there you have it, Chapter 8! Again, I'm sorry I had to delay it this long D: But some stuff came up and I could only finish it now. I also apologize for any typos there might be. I made up for that (I hope) by making the Chapter long, like I promised ^^

I hope you enjoyed it!


	10. Chapter 9: Never Say Never

Cheyenne: NOOO!!! I had the WHOLE chapter 9 typed out, and then the window just CLOSED!! DAMN IT ALL!!

Asoka: Aww! *Huggles*

Cheyenne: *Sniffling* So now I have to re-type it, and It's not going to be nearly as good as the original, sorry. *Sigh*

Yami: Disclaimer. Yui-Gi-Oh does not belong to Cheyenne.

Cheyenne: A very pissed off Cheyenne.

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//Asoka//

Asoka waited behind the large wooden doors to the banquet hall. Beside her, Inyri chattered beside her excitedly.

"Isn't this wonderful, Asoka? We could really boost our living styles! If the Prince takes a liking to us…"

"I don't give a damn if the Prince likes me! As I told you before, my heart belongs to Atem and only Atem!" Asoka crossed her arms in front of her chest, and narrowed her azure eyes.

"But Asoka, he's a Prince!" Inyri said, her short, light-brown hair was cropped so it was barely brushing her Egyptian tanned shoulders.

"Rank doesn't make a man!" Asoka snapped, and Inyri blinked.

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? What's WRONG? I might be put into a freaking concubine, Inyri! To a man I hate!" Asoka twirled a piece of her midnight black hair around her finger, the rest of which fell down in waves to the middle of her back. Questions raced through her mind.

Where was Atem? When would he get here? Would he get here in time? Would he come alone? With Bakura? With Bakura and a small army? Asoka frowned, and moved her hand up to where her dagger was concealed under her dress, its shape familiar against her skin.

"Asoka…" Inyri said quietly.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry Asoka!" A haughty voice sniffed, and Asoka looked up to see Katarr glaring down at her with her hawk-like black eyes. "The Prince isn't going to be picking you, not with me there!"

"Drop dead, Katarr! Asoka is way prettier than you and you know it!" Inyri snapped angrily, doe-like brown eyes angry. Katarr sniffed in a dignified way, and turned her back until she was staring back at the door.

"Inyri, don't." Asoka looked up at her friend. "Ryou said…"

"Ryou!" Inyri smiled. "If he wasn't taken…" the girl shrugged.

"Bakura would rip your throat out!" Asoka smirked slightly.

"I know!" Inyri whined, trying to put her friend in a good mood. "And you like Atem. Tell me, what's he like, this Atem? He must be pretty special if you're that dedicated to him. What village did you come from, anyways?"

Asoka opened her mouth, and then closed it. She hadn't seen her village in over a year! "It was just a small village," she murmured. "There was a small oasis nearby. I used to stare out my window and daydream."

"Really? There was an oasis near my village, too! 'Course that was before it was destroyed… the old noble man went down bravely, I can tell you that. They asked him to surrender the village, and he refused!" Inyri's eyes glinted proudly. "He knew they would take over anyways. The invaders killed him, but… he was brave. I think the invaders were after his daughter, but he had sent her to the Pharaoh's palace two months earlier."

"Wait, what?" Asoka fixated her azure eyes on her friend, whom she had never told her origins.

"Yeah. Sent his daughter to the Pharaoh's palace!" Inyri said absentmindedly.

"Inyri, do you know the old nobles name?" Asoka asked carefully.

"Sure do! It was-"

"Shut up you two! It's time to go!" Katarr snapped as music began playing. Inyri cast an apologetic look at Asoka, who nodded as the music seized control of her body, and she began to sway her hips along to it. As the music picked up in speed, the great wooden doors were throne open. Asoka could not help but gasp! In the center of the room was a square-shaped fountain/pool, with lily pads floating on it. The floor was a pale marble, and shined like it had been newly polished. Directly behind the fountain sat the nobles, dressed in their finery. A grizzled-looking man with a brown beard sat in a large throne, while a woman with graying hair sat beside him.

_These two must be the King and Queen!_ Asoka thought. Her gaze then traveled to the others. Anzu! Asoka felt herself tense, but she let the music fill her again. The Princess was seated in a small throne, dressed in an over frivolous dress. A golden headdress adorned her head, but to Asoka it still looked like her hair was going to fall off at any given time. Beside her sat another man, maybe one or two years older than Asoka. He had piercing green eyes, and black hair that was tied back and held with a golden headdress of his own. He wore a necklace kind of like the ones Asoka had seen old Egyptian Pharaoh's wear. She figured it must have been a spoil from the raid! Asoka's eyes burned, but she et the music fill her again as the slaves began dancing out of the hallway one by one. Letting the music fill her, Asoka swayed her hips and followed. She knew if she didn't she could be punished severely.

And so, Asoka closed her eyes and danced, sealing her fate.

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//Atem//

"We ready?" Atem asked, swinging his head full of tri-colored hair to look at Bakura. The man was pressed up against a pillar inside the hallway. Further in front of the two men, was a huge wooden double door. Atem could faintly hear some music coming from the other side, and he knew that's where Asoka and Ryou must be.

"The men are in place!" Atem looked over at a third man, who had wild platinum blonde hair, and sparking lavender eyes ((Yami Marik)).

Atem smoothed out his white linen tunic, and the millennium puzzle hung from his neck. "Thank you, Marik!" Soon after Bakura and Atem had arrived, Marik had shown up, announcing that if they were going to storm the castle then he was coming too! Bakura had welcomed Marik aboard warmly, and it had become clear to Atem that they were good friends.

Bakura reached up to tap the long scar that stretched vertically from his right eye all the way to his right jaw. Two separate horizontal scars stretched across the vertical one, though they weren't nearly as large as the horizontal scar. "I'm ready when you all are!" The Egyptian was wearing a red robe, was hemmed by a gold-colored cloth. His chest was bare other than that, and he wore an ornate kilt which stopped right above his knees. Marik was wearing a purple cloak, and a plain black kilt. Some kohl outlined his eyes, and a small zigzag design-like thing was painted leading from the edges of his eyes to his temple.

"Same!" Marik echoed.

Atem smirked. "Good. I think they're in the middle of the banquet right now, eh? The men are positioned?"

"Yes. The arched are hiding up in the balconies, and we have 'replaced' some of their guards with some of our own men." Bakura smirked darkly.

"Ah, yes." Atem's usually violet eyes had changed to a shade of violet crimson, leaning more towards the crimson side.

"They're waiting for your signal, Pharaoh!" Marik declared.

"Alright," Atem said, as he motioned for Marik to press himself behind a column. They were just lucky the guards by the double doors didn't hear them. "We'll wait a bit, and then strike. We'll show them what happens when you bring about the wrath of Egypt!"

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//Asoka//

Asoka whirled around in a small circle as the music increased in speed, her dagger lightly bumping against her skin. Her movements were fluid and graceful, as she twirled her hands above her head and let her head fall back as if she was basking in the sunlight. She knew she shouldn't be doing this, but it was almost as if the music controlled her. It ran through her body, and sang in her mind.

Atem. She was dancing for him. For Atem, and only Atem. She could almost see him standing there…

All too soon, the music slowed, and Asoka danced into a line with the others.

"Wow, Asoka!" Inyri's doe-like brown eyes were shining as she looked at her friend. "You were beautiful!"

"Oh…" Asoka blushed and looked down before smiling at her friend. For a moment, she was lost in the aftermath of the music, but then reality crashed down onto her. "Oh!" Asoka squeaked in fear as Anzu took the stage, stepping forward until she glared down at all the slaves with contempt. Standing by the royal banquet table, Asoka spotted Ryou, whose pale cheeks had spots of red on them. Asoka guessed that Anzu had tried to flirt with him, the bitch!

"Alright!" Anzu's shrill voice rang out, and even some of the noble guests winced. Asoka closed her eyes, remembering how Anzu had spoken the same way back in Egypt. But they weren't in Egypt anymore.

"My brother has made his decision! Those chosen will come up here for the rest of the banquet, and you will serve my brother until he says otherwise. The rest of you may return to your quarters and brood about how you didn't get chosen!" Anzu's eyes glinted, and Asoka wanted to slap her.

_Calm…_ Asoka thought to herself. _I am calm…_

"Katarr, Inyri, Sariska step forward!" Anzu called out the names of three girls, and Asoka relaxed, not hearing her name among them. But then she froze, realizing there should be four girls going up with the proud Katarr, quiet Sariska, and her friend Inyri. Asoka looked up, and saw Anzu looking at her cruelly, a smirk playing upon her mouth.

"And Asoka, you may follow them!"

Asoka felt like fainting. _No! It cannot be!_ She stood rooted to the spot until one of the other slaves gave her a gentle push forward. Asoka held her head in the familiar defiant way, and marched up with the others. She briefly reached up to touch the dagger at her side, before stopping in front of Ryuuji.

Ryuuji leered/smirked at them all. He gestured for them to come forward, and kneel at the base of his throne before he reached out and grabbed Asoka's arm, pulling her towards him. Asoka let out an undignified screech, as Ryuuji pulled her close to him.

"We're going to have lots of fun tonight," Ryuuji growled in her ear.

"In your dreams!" Asoka gasped, as she struggled to free herself of his grasp.

"Exactly," Ryuuji laughed. "You have spirit, girl. I shall enjoy breaking that!" He trailed his fingers up and down her spine.

"We'll see about that!" Asoka said as she whipped the dagger out from its hiding place, and positioned it so that it was at his throat. "Touch me and I'll run you through! I won't be your freaking whore!" Her azure eyes burned with hatred, and Anzu yelled out.

"GUARDS!"

Asoka yelled and screamed as two guards came up behind her, grasping both her arms. The dagger clattered nosily to the ground, and Ryuuji picked it up.

"Let me go!" Asoka hissed at the guards. They looked down at her, with amused expressions on their faces.

"We're not who you think we are, Asoka! The Pharaoh is here, hold faith!"

"W-what?" Asoka gasped. Atem was here?

"Guards!"

"Sorry milady!" The one guard said as the two thrust Asoka roughly to the ground, and waved his hand as if gesturing to someone.

"Now to teach you some respect!" Ryuuji held the dagger upwards. He wouldn't kill her; just maybe give her a nasty scratch so she'd know not to disobey him again. He plunged the dagger down, when suddenly an arrow flew across the throne room, knocking the dagger aside. Laughter filled the air, and the stunned noble and royals whipped their heads around the room, looking for the source.

"Atem?" Asoka whispered, looking around as well as Inyri and Ryou ran up to her.

"Asoka, what's going on?" Inyri asked.

"Atem's here!" Asoka's eyes were bright and filled with joy. "He came for me!"

"Bakura's here, too! I'd recognize his laugh anywhere!" Ryou cried.

"Asoka, Ryou, I don't think-"Inyri was cut off as a strong voice filled the air.

"Stay away from her, Ryuuji!" Everyone turned to loom up at the balcony, where a striking figure in a white linen tunic stood. He wore a navy blue cloak, and a sword hung at his side. Around his neck hung a pyramid shaped necklace. Behind him, two more figures emerged.

"Bakura!" Ryou called up to his lover, as the white-haired man appeared behind the man who had spoken; the Pharaoh of Egypt; Atem.

"I told you I'd come for you!" Bakura called as he strung his bow, and fired an arrow. He watched in satisfaction as it pierced the wood of a lesser noble's chair, a strong piece of rope attached to it.

Marik just grinned.

"Atem!" Asoka whispered her loves name, as the three men used their bows to slide down the rope and onto the main floor.

"You fool!" Anzu cackled. "You really think to attack us here, when we have all these guards?"

"Are you sure it's only the three of us, Anzu?" Atem asked; his now-crimson eyes blazed as he snapped his fingered. Instantly, from behind thrones, chairs, and upon other balconies, archers and foot soldiers appeared.

"Damn you, Atem!" Anzu shrieked.

"Damn YOU, Anzu!" Asoka yelled at the Princess, as she stood up and ran over to Atem, throwing herself into his arms and kissing him deeply. "You came, you came!" She sobbed, hugging him.

"I wouldn't dare leave you, Asoka." Atem murmured, stroking her midnight black hair with his hand.

"Bakura!" Beside Asoka, Ryou also kissed his lover.

"Wha-what?" Inyri stuttered, for she now recognized two of the young men. Asoka's Atem was the Pharaoh? Pharaoh Atem? But it was the young man that was standing to the side that caught her attention. "M-Marik? Ra, is that really you, Marik?" She asked with widening eyes, and the young man turned to look at her with surprise.

"Geez, Inyri! I was wondering where you went!" He smirked as the young girl laughed and ran to her friend.

"Damn you, Atem!" Anzu shrieked again.

"Boys?" Atem said, eying the soldiers around him. "Make sure they don't follow us!" He stepped forward towards the throne, and Asoka dashed past him to retrieve the dagger, slipping it back into the scabbard as she returned to Atems' side.

"Good-bye, Anzu! Don't try and follow us!" Bakura snarled, wrapping a possessive hand around Ryou, who blushed.

"I hope I never have to see your ugly face again!" Marik chimed in, as the three turned towards the door.

"Atem, watch out!" Asoka cried as Anzu wrenched a sword from her surprised brothers side, and rushed towards them.

"Go!" Atem yelled, unsheathing his own sword to block her blows.

"Not without you!" Asoka leapt forward, unsheathing the dagger again as she leapt forward, grabbing Anzu's hair and yanking her towards the ground. "Consider this a warning!" Atem hissed as he moved towards Anzu, his expression cold and full of pure hatred.

Asoka smirked, and with a yank, hacked off an uneven lock of Anzu's hair.

"Nooo! My hair!" Anzu shrieked as Asoka and Atem rang towards the large wooden doors, laughing their heads off.

"If that were me, it wouldn't be your hair you'd have to worry about!" Bakura snarled before joining Ryou, Atem, Asoka, Marik, and Inyri.

"We're leaving, Anzu. Don't try and stop up!" Atem snapped his fingers, and his soldiers and guards withdrew.

Bakura laughed, as he and Marik closed the wooden doors behind them.

"Oh Ra, Atem!" Asoka said as they all began running to the end of the corridor. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

"Never say never," Atem smirked. ((AN: That line's so overrated… BUT I DON'T CARE 8D))

"Enough mushy talk you two! We have to get out of here before-"

"There they are, get them!" A small garrison of about six guards yelled out, charging down the hallway towards the six.

"Before exactly that happens!" Bakura finished Marik's sentence.

"Lets get 'em, boys!" Marik laughed and charged, drawing his sword and stabbing it into the stomach of the first guard before he even knew what was going on.

Atem and Bakura laughed, and followed. Brandishing their swords, they flew into the thicket.

Asoka started to run, too, but Inyri and Ryou held her back.

"Hold her!" Ryou yelled as he followed Bakura, Marik, and Atem into battle.

"Damnit!" Asoka hissed in frustration. "I'm not weak!" But she let Inyri hold onto her until the four men had dispatched of the guards.

"Come on!" Atem called, as the two women ran over to them.

"Let's go!" Atem laughed as they ran the rest of the way towards the main gates.

"Open the gates!" Bakura called up to the gate guard (who was actually an Egyptian soldier).

The gates opened, and the six ran forward towards the three horses in front of them. Two were black stallions, and one was white.

"I feel like such a loner!" Marik groaned as he pulled Inyri up onto the white horse.

"That's because you are!" Bakura called back as he and Ryou mounted one of the black stallions. Atem and Asoka just laughed and climb on to the last horse.

Atem purred as Asoka wrapped her arms around his waist, as he spurred the horse into action. The soldiers followed a ways behind on their horses, which they had grabbed from the stables.

"Atem." Asoka didn't say anything else, but she knew he understood.

"I love you, Asoka. I never stopped, and I never will. No matter what happens, know that I will always be there for you." Atem murmured.

"I know," Asoka whispered as they rode towards Egypt, the moon starting it's decent from the sky. "I know."

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Cheyenne: Yay Atem! *Is actually happy I had to redo the chapter, because now it's MUCH better then it was before.*

Marik and Bakura: Told you it would work out.

Atem: *Rolls eyes*

Asoka: *Is just smiling*

Inyri: Sweet!

Ryou: We're rescued!

Cheyenne: Yep! And stand by for Chapter Ten, which'll probably be out tomorrow… *Checks time* whoops, I mean later on today! *It is 12:13 AM* Ha ha ^^ Writing mode!

Again, I hope ya'll enjoyed this chapter!


	11. Chapter 10: Engagements

Cheyenne: And here we are, Chapter 10! *Is blushing just thinking about it*

Okay, so… umm… I have decided that this chapter is going to be a lemon.

Keep in mind that it'll be my first lemon ever (that I've written) so it may not be as detailed as some of you would like. Nor as good. ..Basic. YAY!

Okay… Um… someone just say the disclaimer, 'kay?

Inyri: Disclaimer. Yu-Gi-Oh does NOT belong to Cheyenne.

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After riding and camping in the deserts for about an odd two weeks, the party of six (and their small army) returned back to Egypt; and in turn, to the palace of the Pharaoh. Asoka was surprised to find out that Marik and Inyri had known each other since they were young children, and she was very relieved to find out that she and Inyri did not come from the same village. She knew this was a little selfish of her, but she didn't even want to think about if her father were to die.

Therefore, it wasn't as big a surprise to find out that Marik had proposed to Inyri, who had accepted readily. It was a tear-filled goodbye as the two friends bid each other farewell, for Asoka had offered them a place at her old village.

As for her and Atem, well… things were starting to get interesting.

It had been little over a month since their return from Anzu's kingdom, and the two had been fiercely protective of each other ever since.

"I'll never let her take you again," Atem murmured, wrapping his arms around Asoka's waist from behind.

Asoka smiled, and turned away from where she had been staring at the desert from the balcony. "She won't," the young noble promised solemnly. "And if she does… I could shove her off a cliff for you!" Asoka turned to face Atem, who still held her tightly in his arms. She placed her hands lightly against his chest, and leaned into him quietly. Her azure eyes closed, and for a moment she felt completely blissful. She felt Atem brush a lock of midnight black hair off her face, and tilt her head up with two of his fingers before he lowered his head, and their lips met.

Asoka smiled, eyes still closed as the kiss became more intense. She felt herself longing for him. For him, and only for him.

"Atem…" she moaned, and she could almost see his teasing crimson/violet eyes. Atem nibbled on her bottom lip, pleading for entrance; which Asoka granted. She felt his tongue slip into her mouth.

Asoka let out another moan of pleasure, as Atem ran his fingers up and down her spine. She shivered in delight, and suddenly the two found themselves stumbling towards the bed. Asoka laughed as she tripped on something, sending the two laughing nobles sprawling backwards onto the white sheets of Atem's soft bed. Atem chuckled, and shifted until he was on top of her.

"Hello down there," he purred as Asoka laughed and drew her hands up his back and into his hair.

"Why hello," Asoka said before their lips were pressed together again. The kissing became more urgent, and soon the two felt themselves panting for breath.

"We need… to catch… out breath!" Asoka laughed airily, gasping for some ait as they broke away.

"Maybe," Atem said as he nuzzled her neck, trailing butterfly kisses around her throat until he came to a sensitive spot.

"Atem… aahhh!" Asoka groaned as he gently nibbled at the spot, sucking gently.

"Yes?" Atem whispered, as his fingers pulled almost impatiently at the straps of her dress. Asoka laughed, and arched upwards so that he could slip the fabric off her shoulders, until it was completely off. The gently breezes blowing in from the balcony sent a slight shiver on Asoka's exposed skin, but Atem made up for it by kissing her, which alone set her whole being on fire.

Asoka smiled smugly, and shifted until she was on top of Atem. "Ha," she laughed breathlessly, as she began kissing down his neck and onto his chest.

"Asoka!" Atem moaned, and Asoka smirked. She moved back up, until they were kissing mouth-on-mouth again. There was a small battle, in which both Atem and Asoka tried to gain entrance to each others mouths. Asoka won… for about ten seconds before Atem gave a triumphant smirk, and regained control.

Asoka fumbled with his kilt, sliding it down until they were both exposed. Atem wrapped them both in the sheets, and kissed Asoka's nose, making her giggle.

"Atem…" Asoka whispered, before the young Pharaoh placed a finger to her lips and smiled gently.

"I know," he smiled. Asoka felt herself almost swell with desire, and she moaned again. Atem smiled gently, and looked at her carefully.

"I'll be gentle," he murmured. Asoka nodded. She knew he would never intentionally hurt her. Pulling him close to her, she kissed him deeply.

When the pain came, Asoka was expecting it. However, it was unlike any pain she had ever felt! For almost instantly, the pain changed to a feeling of pleasure that grew as Atem bucked his hips into hers.

"Atem!" Asoka gasped, and Atem nuzzled her neck. For a moment, Asoka tensed, but then she was swept away in another wave of pure, undying love.

==The Next Day==

Asoka opened her eyes to see a beam of sunlight shining through the open balcony. She was dimly aware of Atem's arms wrapped around her, holding her body close to his.

Last night they had become lovers in every way they could; heart, body, and soul. They belonged to each other.

"Atem?" Asoka whispered, as the young Pharaoh shifted slightly and opened his violet/crimson eyes a crack.

"Mmrf," he muttered, making Asoka giggle.

"Hey, Pharaoh! The city's on fire," Asoka said, testing.

"Let it burn," he smirked and tightened his grip on her. Asoka laughed, and turned around to face him.

"Hey," she purred, snuggling in closer.

"Hey yourself," Atem smirked when a knock upon the door startled them both.

"Just a moment!" Atem called, as both he and Asoka leapt out of the bed, pulling their clothes on quickly. Atem wore a plain white tunic, with a golden belt-this and a stripe of blue cloth down the front. He also threw on his navy cloak, which stayed on by means of a gold clasp. Asoka merely threw on a white linen dress, with some gold-colored fabric at the front.

Atem grinned as her, as he silently inquired if she was good to go. Asoka nodded, and Atem turned towards the door.

"Enter!"

Asoka smiled to herself, and clasped the intricate necklace that Atem had given her last night. The designs swirled, and the beads, which were the blues and greens of the Nile, stood out again her tanned skin and white dress. ((AN: I don't think I could accurately describe what the necklace looks like to me, so I'll tell you the colors and let your mind work it ^^))

Mahado poked his head in, and for a split second, he looked like he was blushing.

"Did I… interrupt something?" He asked.

"No, not really," Asoka smiled as she ran a brush through her silky black hair. Mahado noticed the necklace around Asoka's neck, and smiled brightly. He knew what this meant, for that necklace had belonged to Atem's own mother.

"Sire?" Mahado asked with a sparkle in his brown eyes, and Atem looked at Asoka once before nodding.

"I'll be holding a banquet tonight," he smiled over at his lover, who had placed the brush back upon a dress-like surface.

Mahado nodded. "Alright," he said.

"A private banquet," Atem added. "With you, Mana, Tamara, and the six other keepers.

"Alright, Pharaoh." Mahado turned to go, but before he did, he paused. "Pharaoh?"

"Yes?"

Mahado smiled faintly. "I think you made a good choice." With that, the High Priest vanished down into the hallway.

Asoka smiled as the man left, before turning to Atem. "I should go," she said, walking over to him and kissing him once more. "I'm sure Mana is dying to know everything."

"Try not to tell her. I want this to be… as much as a surprise as it can be with you wearing that." Atem fingered Asoka's necklace with a faint smile.

"Will do," Asoka laughed as she walked out the door, and down the hallway.

==Two Hour Later==

Asoka looked up to see Mana staring at her with a look of almost untold glee.

"Mana, I wish you'd stop staring at me!" Asoka said, though she arched her brow in an amused fashion.

"I'm sorry, I just can't help it! It's SO exiting!" Mana chirped, as she threw her handful of pink flowers into the air.

Asoka laughed, and she threw her handful of orange lilies up into the air, as well. She laughed gleefully, as Mana grabbed her hands and the two girls spun around in a neat circle.

"I just can't believe he finally chose someone!" Mana sighed gleefully, and Asoka looked at the ground as she felt the heat rise to her cheeks.

"Oh," was all the young noble could say.

"Oh?" A new voice said, and the two girls turned to see the High Priest Seto with his wife Tamara. Tamara was smiling brightly, as she moved over to Asoka.

Asoka glared at Seto. "You're not supposed to know yet!" She make a fake pouting, and Tamara laughed while Seto kept his usual stony mask; but Asoka could tell he was amused.

"We'll act surprised right, Seto?" Tamara looked meaningfully over at the priest, who smirked.

"Who needs to pretend?"

Asoka rolled her eyes at the priest as he said that, but secretly she was pleased.

"See you at the banquet!" Tamara winked, and she and Seto sauntered off to Ra-knows-where.

"He'd better not tell anyone," Mana muttered. "Because if he does…" Asoka laughed when her friend said that last bit.

"I'm sure he won't."

"As I said, He'd BETTER not!"

==Hours later, at the Banquet==

Asoka was laughing at something Mana, who was sitting to her right, said. Atem was seat at the end of the table, but even so, Asoka was the next seat, by the corner of the table. She was smiling brilliantly, and she doubted if there was anyone sitting here who DIDN'T know the point of this elaborate feast.

At long last, Atem stood up and motioned Asoka to stand beside him.

Atem looked like he didn't know what to say for a moment, but then Asoka smiled encouragingly at him and he took a deep breath.

"I have requested this banquet so I could relay to you some important news." Atem spoke, and everyone in the room fell silent, but you could tell they were all bursting with excitement, even Seto!

"Last night, I ask Asoka a… very important question," Atem began, but Mana couldn't take it anymore. Standing up, she ran over and hugged both Asoka and Atem.

"I am SO happy for you!" She gushed, and Mahado didn't know whether to scold her or laugh.

"I see there is no need to finish the statement," Atem couldn't help but smile. "We don't know when the wedding itself will take place, perhaps in a months time."

Asoka was smiling so much that her face looked positively radiant.

"I never thought you'd settle down!" Seto suddenly called out, and Tamara elbowed him once, clearly amused.

"You wish, cousin!" Atem laughed back.

"Do I have to watch you two be all mushy all the time, now?" Seto asked again.

"Not anymore than when you and Tamara first got together!" Isis laughed at him, and Seto blinked rapidly while Tamara blushed. The table erupted into a fit of good-natured jokes, as the other occupants of the table began talking excitedly.

"A royal wedding!" One said.

"It will be grand, I'll bet!" Said another of the High Priests.

"And why wouldn't it be?" Shada asked, before snickering.

Asoka and Atem just looked at each other with tender expressions, as they sat back down in their seats. Asoka started laughing then, and soon Atem and Mana were laughing with her.

"Atem?" Asoka suddenly asked, looking at the young Pharaoh, who turned to her.

"Yes?"

"Atem, I… I think I need to go see my father. He deserves to know of this!" Asoka smiled at him, and the Pharaoh nodded.

"Understandable. If my father were still here… he'd want to be there, too." Atem's voice held sadness, and Asoka reached over and placed her hand gently upon his shoulder.

"But he will be here," she whispered as she gazed at her lover with a kindhearted expression. "He will be watching you, Atem. He would want to see his only sons wedding."

Atem nodded at her, and leaned towards her once before the two leaned in, their lips brushing.

"We've got some action!" Mana squealed. Asoka pulled back and gave the young magician-in-training a playful glare, before smiling.

"Get used to it," the young noble said with a teasing glimmer in her azure eyes.

"When would you like to leave for your village?" Ate asked Asoka, and his fiancé turned to face him.

"Maybe in about a week?" She answered.

"Sounds good to me. In a week, you're father's going to receive the biggest surprise of his life!"

________________________________________________________________

Cheyenne: And there you have it, Chapter 10! I apologize to all you lemon-lovers for my failure at lemons. I also apologize for the probable shortness of this chapter. Again, I hope you all enjoyed it anyways =D

Stand by for… Chapter 11! Dun dun dun dun dunnnnnnn. (Can't you just hear the epically dramatic music playing in the background? That's organ music, and it's from Phantom of the Opera. Yeah. xD


	12. Chapter 11: A Desert Attack

Cheyenne: _In sleep he sang to me_

_In dreams he came,_

_That voice which calls to me_

_And speaks my name,_

_And do I dream again?_

_For now I find_

_The Phantom of the Opera is there,_

_Inside my mind._

Atem: *Sighs, and grabs iPod out of Cheyenne's ears*

Cheyenne: Oh, right! Here we are, Chapter 11! Yay!

Asoka: *Amused look*

Cheyenne: *Nervous cough* BRING IT ON!

Atem: We will when you start WRITING!

Cheyenne: *Even more nervous laughter* right... but I can't until-

Asoka: Disclaimer, Yu-Gi-Oh! does NOT belong to Cheyenne.

Cheyenne: Thank you.

________________________________________________________________

"Almost ready, love?" Atem hoisted a small travel bag over his shoulder, and smiled. A navy blue hood covered his head, and the rest of his body was concealed in his navy blue cloak.

"Yes!" Asoka said, touching the necklace that hung around her neck once more before she moved over to the Pharaoh. She was wearing a white cloak, adorned at the edges and hem with gold thread. A small scene revolving around Maat, the goddess of justice, swirled around the base of her dress underneath. Atem smiled, and held out his hand. Asoka grasped it firmly in hers, and they moved out of the palace walls, over to where two horses-one white and one black-were parked.

Atem watched to make sure Asoka got up okay (even though he knew she could) before he got onto his own black stallion.

"Good luck, we hope to see you soon!" Mana waved wildly from her spot near the palace gates. Mahado nodded.

"We'll have all the preparations ready for your return, Pharaoh."

"Thank you, Mahado!" Atem said, before both he and Asoka started trotting away from the palace, not looking back as Mana and Mahado got smaller and smaller.

"You're father is in for a hell of a surprise," the young Pharaoh said.

"Yes…" Asoka seemed almost absentminded.

"Anything wrong?" Atem asked.

"No, not in the least. I just hope we don't give him a heart attack!" Asoka laughed once, before she and her horse reared up. "Catch me if you can!" The young noble laughed before her white horse started galloping wildly across the restless sands of the desert. She pulled a piece of cloth attached to the hood of her cloak over her face, which covered from her nose down. Atem did something similar, before he followed her.

The two charged recklessly over the desert for maybe ten minutes, before they stopped to give their horses a rest.

"Tired?" Atem teased as he slid off his horse. Asoka was kneeling in front of hers, with a flask of water as she let the horse drink.

"Don't you wish?" Her azure eyes sparkled, and she looked both beautiful and mysterious with her face half-hidden. A small circlet of shining gold circled her forehead, adding even more effect.

"Maybe I do," Atem chuckled. He pulled the piece of navy blue cloth off his mouth and nose, so he could breathe a little easier. Asoka just laughed once more, before straitening up, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared out over the stretch of desert.

"We should stick more to the road," she said with a frown.

"Just make sure to keep a sharp eye out for bandits and thieves. They like to prey on what they think are unarmed travelers!" Atem placed his hand on the area where his sword hung, and Asoka did the same only with the dagger. Since it had saved her life many times, Atem had since given it to her. Asoka smiled, and mounted her horse again.

"We're not going to get there any faster by just standing here!"

"Right, as usual!" Atem chuckled, mounting his own horse. Asoka's white mare stamped its hoof on the ground once, before the young noble clicked her tongue and the horse moved forward. Atem rode slightly ahead of her, just in case.

"Atem?" Asoka asked once they had left all forms of civilization behind them. The two were riding along a pathway, which was there merely to give basic guidance. Most people preferred to ride to the side of it, and Asoka and Atem weren't exceptions.

"Yeah?" Atem answered, glancing back at her.

"Thank you."

==Five Hours Later==

The two nobles kept riding further towards Asoka's village, stopping every hour-or-so to give their horses (and themselves!) water. Soon they came upon a small fork in the small path they had been following, and Atem frowned.

"The one to the right is shorter, but bandits have been known to lurk along the paths. The one to the left should be more bandit free, since people rarely travel that one, preferring to take the short road. Therefore, there are fewer bandits, if any. People rarely go through these paths," the young Pharaoh confessed. "But if we take the longer path… well, it will take longer to get there. And I don't like the look of this wind that's picking up. What do you think, Asoka?"

"You know these roads better than I, it seems," Asoka observed.

"Maybe," Atem admitted. "Should we take the right? We'll push our horses a little faster, just in case."

"Alright," Asoka said by means of agreement as Atem guided his horse towards the right path, with Asoka not more than a meter behind.

==Two Hours Later==

"Keep an eye out for those bandits," Atem laughed through the navy blue cloth covering half his face.

""Why don't you?" Asoka gave a short giggle, and made her horse walk faster until she was beside Atem.

"I'm too busy watching you!" Atem said softly, and Asoka blushed under her hood.

"Besides, I don't think we have to worry about bandits too much," Atem continued.

"Maybe…" Asoka frowned as he said that. They WERE dressed rather… royal-ish? Asoka smiled then, and turned her head to Atem quickly. Suddenly, a shadow caught the corner of her eyes. "Atem? Atem, what was that?" Asoka peered over the sand dunes, trying to find what had caused the disturbance.

"What was what?" Atem's brow furrowed into a frown as he stopped his horse with a sharp jerk too the reins. Suddenly, his eyes widened as another shadow flickered across the sand. "Asoka, run! Go!" Atem reached over and slapped the rear on Asoka's horse, causing it to rear up and start running madly forward. Atem spurred his own stallion into action after his fiancé.

"What in Ra's name?" Asoka grasped the reins of her horse in order to stay on, leaning forward to stop the wind resistance.

"I thought we were out of bandit country!" Atem rode up beside, the sides of his black horse glinting with sweat. Asoka's white mare was in a similar state, only its perspiration was less obvious because of its coat.

"Damnit!" Atem cursed as a sharp cry broke out across the horizon. "Ride Asoka, ride!"

"I'm riding!" Asoka called, snapping the reins of her horse even harder, as three figured started closing in on horses behind them.

"Stupid!" Atem muttered to himself. "I should have taken a different path!"

"It's not your fault," Asoka breathed. "I wanted to go the short way, too!"

"Still!" Atem called. But he knew their horses were tiring, and that they wouldn't be able to outrun these masked men forever. All they could do was hope they could find someone, or reach the city. Still, Atem highly doubted that would happen.

"Atem, get your sword ready!" Asoka called, holding onto her horse with one arm, while she drew her dagger with the other. "I'm not dying without taking at least one of them with me!"

"You're not dying period!" Atem called back, as he prepared to grab his sword.

"Same goes for you," Asoka said as the two reached across the gap between the galloping horses, to hold onto each others hand.

"One…" Atem started.

"Two…" Asoka countered, tensing a little.

"Three!" The two let go of each others hands, and pulled back hard on their horses reins. The horses stopped dead in their tracks, and Asoka slipped her hand out of her cloak to reveal the silver; ruby and sapphire encrusted dagger. Atem did the same, only his was a grand sword, its blade gleaming silver and its hilt glowing gold.

Then, the bandits were upon them. Asoka narrowed her eyes, and swung her horse around as she stabbed a confused bandit in the side.

"At least they don't-OH COME ON!" Asoka growled in frustration as not one, but three other bandits appeared from behind a dune. The bandit Asoka had stabbed dropped to the ground, moaning and clutching at his blood-stained and probably sand-infected side wound. Atem, meanwhile, had managed to neatly finish one off by delivering a blow to the heart. Both the young nobles' blades were now stained with bright crimson, as they turned to face the two new attackers.

"They sure aren't as elite as I'd thought!" Asoka and Atem were now standing back-to-back, to protect themselves (and each other) better.

"Hell no, but we're clearly outnumbered!" Atem grunted as he thrust and parried.

"True!" Asoka was getting tired, as well. Up ahead she spotted a large rocky formation, which stood out against the otherwise endless sand. There could easily be a small cave there… Asoka gritted her teeth as the winds of the desert suddenly picked up, blowing her cape around wildly.

Asoka heard a yell of pain as she plunged her dagger into the shoulder of a third bandit, before she used his own sword to run him through. Blood splattered her otherwise white cloak, as she drew back to Atem. Suddenly, she was aware of a hot liquid soaking into her side, and she looked down with a frown. No, she wasn't wounded… except for some small cuts and bruises. Nothing that could cause THAT much blood!

"Damn it to Ra!" Asoka turned as Atem slashed at fourth bandit, leaving multiple wounds along the mans chest until he dropped dead. That was when Asoka noticed the dark stain seeping into Atem's own navy cloak.

"Atem!" Asoka shrieked, and her eyes blazed with a new determination. Leaping forward, she circled until she was behind one of the remaining two bandits, and, without him seeing, she plunged her dagger into his back. Withdrawing the crimson-stained weapon, she turned to the last bandit who; knowing he was clearly outmatched, fled with a high-pitched girly scream. Asoka would have laughed, had Atem not let out a small moan at that moment. Abandoning her newly won victory, she ran over to her lover just as he fell back into her arms.

"Damn!" Atem hissed, removing his left hand from where it clutched his ride side. Asoka gasped as his hand came away completely soaked with blood, which had seeped through his white tunic and was now flowing into his navy cloak.

"Atem!" Asoka cried out, her eyes wide. They had brought bandages, yes, but that bandit might come back…With friends. Asoka blinked her eyes as grains of sand flew into them, and the winds picked up to an almost violet level.

"What next!" Asoka shouted into the sky, angry at Ra for letting this happen. Atem moved his blood soaked hand so that it once again clutched his side, putting pressure on it to slow the bleeding a smidge. Asoka drew her arm over his left side, and draped it across his before she crouched down and placed her right hand over his forehead.

"I'm getting you out of here," the noble said fiercely. Asoka helped Atem straiten up, trying not to notice as his face paled at the loss of blood he was suffering. Asoka helped Atem to the horses, and pulled him up onto her own horse. Her cloak was stained with blood, but the large stain on the side was Atem's own blood. Asoka grabbed the reins of Atem's horse, and she gently urged her horse to go as fast as it could, without hurting Atem too much.

After about ten minutes of riding, Asoka approached the rock formation she had seen earlier. _Please, Ra! Let us take refuge here…_ The young female noble closed her eyes once, before she moved herself and the horses over to the tall structure.

Asoka could have cried in relief as she spotted a cave, which was large enough for her, Atem, and the two horses. It was tall, wide, and Asoka could see it stretched a ways back. "Hold on, Atem!" She whispered as she slid off the horse, and helped him down. Supporting him with one arm, she used her other to spread a blanket out closer to the back of the cave. Outside, the air was screaming as sand whipped across the front of the cave.

_Sandstorm!_ Asoka thought, her head reeling when she realized just how lucky they were indeed to find this cave.

"Asoka…" Atem mumbled from where he stood, supported by Asoka.

"Sshh!" Asoka murmured, leading him over to the blanket and setting him down gently.

________________________________________________________________

//Atem//

Atem closed his eyes so as to stop from crying out in pain as Asoka laid him as gently as she could on the blanket. A flat covered by said blanket provided a small head support, but it still hurt like the gods had struck him with lightning.

"Asoka…" Atem reached up and his lover grasped his hand firmly in her own.

"Don't worry" her gentle voice sooth as she moved to grab something from the sacks. Atem wanted to hold her closely, never to let her go, but he knew he could not. He watched as she grabbed some bandages and a water flask from the sack that she had attached to the side of her horse, and he watched again as she walked back over.

"This will hurt," Asoka murmured as she drew back Atem's cloak. There was a ragged hole in his tunic, and Asoka looked at him apologetically before she ripped the hole further so she could access the wound. Atem read the look of horror that crossed Asoka's face briefly as she saw the damage, and he turned to look at the wall quickly.

"Do what you have to," the young Pharaoh said through clenched teeth as Asoka nodded. Atem braced himself, but the pain was excruciating as Asoka poured the water onto the wound to clear away both dry and fresh blood.

________________________________________________________________

//Asoka//

Asoka brushed her lover's bangs away from his sweat and sand-streaked face, as she set the water flask up so it would not spill. She reached inside the bag she had set aside, and pulled out a roll of white cloth.

"Mahado and Mana insisted I bring this. We'll have to thank them when we get back," Asoka admitted. She looked at the young Pharaoh, who was panting heavily.

"Atem? I'll need to get at the wound…" Asoka looked down, and Atem nodded.

"I said you could do what you had to."

Asoka sighed at his words, as she reached over to unbutton his cloak. She slid that off his trembling shoulders; she grabbed the top straps of his tunic, and pulled down until his chest and side were exposed. Atem winced as the tunic brushed his side wound, but Asoka smiled at him gently.

"I need you to sit up," she whispered as she helped him gently. "Hold onto me for support, while I apply this." Asoka gestured to the bandages, and waited as Atem reached up to grasp her shoulders. Asoka then reached around his waist, pulling the cloth into place as she did so. After about five minutes of wrapping the bandages tightly and securely around the young Pharaoh's wound, Asoka became aware of how tight his fingers dug into her shoulder blade. She wanted to wince, but knew she could not for his sake.

"All done," Asoka whispered. She suddenly realized how close her face was to his, and she blushed as she realized he was shirtless.

"Asoka?" Atem looked at her. His violet eyes reflected unspoken pain, but they also held a tender emotion that both of them knew was love. Asoka wrapped her arms around his neck, and he placed his own hands at her hips. Slowly,-Atem's breathing being labored because of his wound and Asoka's because of how close they were-they drifted even closer together until their lips met in a deep kiss. Atem nibbled at her bottom lip again, pleading for entrance, which the young female granted readily, moaning in pleasure as he explored. She was dimly aware of Atem's hands moving up her back, sending shivers of delight up her spine. Atem smirked despite his wounds, but soon they had to break apart.

"You should rest," Asoka panted as she helped Atem lean back down without hurting himself.

"That I should," Atem murmured before he closed his violet/crimson eyes, drifting into a dreamless sleep.

As for Asoka, she wandered to the front of the cave and looked out into the blowing winds. She knew this sandstorm would last at least a few hours, giving Atem time to sleep but putting them behind schedule. Asoka moved back over to the sleeping Pharaoh, and sat down beside him. Her eyes filled with an incomprehensible amount of love as she gazed at his sleeping form. She, too, felt tired, so she lay down beside him, snuggling in as close as she could without hurting him. Suppressing a purr of happiness as Atem subconsciously wrapped his arms around her waist and arms; Asoka, too, drifted into a peaceful slumber.


	13. Chapter 12: Sealing Fate

Cheyenne: Chapter 12! Yay! I know I was supposed to be typing the next chapters to _Just One Bite_ and _Phantom of My Heart_ now, BUT I WANTED TO WRITE THIS. So much for balance!

Asoka: Disclaimer, Yu-Gi-Oh! does NOT belong to Cheyenne! All OC's and the plot for this story, however, do.

Atem: Right.

________________________________________________________________

Asoka raised her head from the ground where she slept, Atem's arms wrapped tightly around her. The sandstorm was still raging, but it was noticeably weaker. Asoka predicted that in a couple of hours (perhaps a little more), the sandstorm would stop completely. She detangled herself from her lovers arm, kissing him lightly on the nose with a small giggle before she stood up, intent on packing whatever she could. Her cloak was still bloodstained, and she grimaced. The blood, however, was not hers, but the blood of the bandits she had killed… and the blood that had seeped from Atem's wound. She sighed. She could only hope that her father looked passed their now bedraggled appearances.

"Asoka?" Atem murmured sleepily from where he was still laying.

"I'm here," Asoka said as she smiled warmly at him. "And I will always be here."

Atem smiled at her, before drifting back into sleep.

==Three Hours Later==

Asoka was right; the storm had lessened in three hours until it had vanished completely. Smiling, she walked over to Atem. It was then she noticed that something was horribly wrong.

His brow was streaked with sweat, as was his body. He was shaking, as if cold, but when Asoka pressed her palm against his forehead, it was hot. Too hot to be normal. Asoka's face paled. No… no, not now! Throwing a saddle over the backs of both the horses, she prepared to leap on and rode in less then five minutes. Fever! Something Asoka feared greatly, as her mother had been taken by fever when she had been only ten. She could not-would not-lose Atem to one, now.

"Asoka?" Atem's breathing was ragged, as it was painful. Asoka ran over to him, kneeling down until she was in front of him.

"We're getting you to the village," she said stubbornly, helping him up. "You have a fever, and we need to leave now!" She knew the dangers of traveling while Atem was still this weak, but she knew she would have to. The village was only about an hours ride away anyways, and she knew her father would have the means to heal the young Pharaoh. Her Atem.

"I'm fine!" Atem's protest was weak, signifying that he was anything but.

"You are not!" Asoka said grimly, her face set in a stubborn mask. Atem knew there was no arguing with her, so he allowed her to help him onto his horse. He grasped the reins tightly in his hands, and stared strait ahead at the sand as Asoka tied her white mare and his black stallion together with a long stretch of rope, before leading them outside and mounting her ride. The desert blew small grains of sand around, and the outside world looked changed after the storm. Luckily, the path was still visible. Pulling the cloth over her face, as Atem had already done, Asoka snapped the reins hard, causing her mare to start galloping at an alarmingly fast pace. Atem's stallion had no trouble keeping up, and Asoka only hoped that Atem himself would make the journey.

==One Hour Later==

Asoka whooped in glee as she spotted her village up ahead. There was a stretch of smaller houses, leading up to a large white house near the back edge. A small oasis stood behind the house, bringing back some of Asoka's childhood memories. She had started to slip into a few, when she remembered she could not afford to.

"Atem?" She called back to the young Pharaoh, who seemed to have gotten paler.

"I'm fine," Atem called back to her. Asoka nodded, not noticing how he was clutching his side again.

Asoka rode furiously towards the city. Atem rode behind her, but his grasp on the reins was slackening.

Finally, Asoka made it in to the city itself. She quickly jerked the horses to a stop, sliding off to check on Atem.

"Atem!" She called as the young Pharaoh looked weakly over at her. His crimson/violet eyes registered pain, but his face was set into a stony mask. Asoka smiled at him, not noticing how the other villagers drew away from them.

"Hold on a moment longer, my love!" Asoka stood up on her tiptoes, and Atem leaned downwards. Their lips brushed, and Asoka smiled before heading back to her horse, and mounting it. She didn't care that the villagers seemed afraid; all she cared about was making it to her old home before it was too late for Atem. Riding like the wind, she and Atem took off, stopping only when they reached the house. Their horse's flanks heaved as Asoka slid off the white mare again, heading over towards the door. A guard stood there, and when she approached, he held out his hand for her to stop.

"Let me pass! I need to see my father!" Asoka turned her furious azure gaze on the guard, who glared back at her. He took in her disheveled appearance, and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, miss. I can't let you past!"

"What? Listen, you! This is my home, I am Asoka! That man is dying and I need my fathers help!" Asoka gestured to Atem, and she removed her hood; revealing her pleading face.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot let you in. You could be an imposter!" The guard said simply, not feeling sorry at all. This girl was probably a thief.

Asoka's expression darkened, and she was about to push past him anyways when she had an idea. "Give my father this!" She removed the simple gold chain she also wore around her neck with the intricate necklace Atem had given her. She knew her father would recognize it. "NOW!"

The man scrambled away as if he had suddenly been bitten by a bee, disappearing into the house.

"Asoka!" Atem called out, and Asoka ran over to him just in time as the young Pharaoh's eyes rolled back, and he slumped off his horse.

"Good Ra!" Asoka cried out in horror. His body was even hotter, and Asoka could feel a warm, sticky liquid seeping onto her hand. She blanched as she realized his wound had re-opened during the rough ride, and was bleeding freely.

"Asoka? Asoka, is that you?" Asoka looked up as her father stumbled out of the house. Asoka's hair was tucked under her cape, but her hood was down and you could see her face clearly. "Father, come quick! It's Atem! I think his wound re-opened!"

"Asoka, wha-?!" Asoka's father stopped and gasped as he saw the young man in his daughter's arms. "Bring him this way, quickly! The village healer with attend to him promptly! You there, guard! Go get Hashini!" The father pointed to the door guard, who bowed and ran into the village. "Asoka, bring him this way!" Asoka father said, as he helped Asoka bring Atem into the house.

==Five Minutes Later==

"Will he be alright?" If it was possible for a person to worry themselves to death, Asoka would probably be on her way to the underworld.

"He needs rest!" The town healer, Hashini, who was an old woman, replied evenly.

Asoka's father, Neferarius, placed a comforting hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"We should leave Hashini to her work," the older man said before he moved towards the door. But before he did so, he caught sight of a pyramid-shaped necklace that the wounded young man was wearing. _A millennium item?_ Blinking rapidly in shock, he lead the rigid Asoka out into the hallway, and down the stairs towards where members (and guests) of the family ate their meals.

"Oh, Ra! Atem!" Asoka broke down sobbing as she uttered her lovers' name. "Ra, please spare him, please!" The young noble woman cried out, her body shaking as she let out all her grief for the past two days events.

"Asoka?" The fathers' voice shook to see his daughter in so much pain. For the first time, he took in her ragged appearance. Her cloak, once a brilliant white, was dust-streaked and stained with dry and fresh blood. Her usually silky midnight hair was wild and untamed, obviously from all that riding. He noticed a new necklace around her neck, and he gasped. It must have cost a fortune!

"Asoka… who is he? That young man, I mean. Why is he wearing a millennium puzzle?" Neferarius asked carefully, and Asoka looked up at him through tear-filled eyes.

"Atem," she repeated. "He's my fiancé. Father… I'm getting married. We came to tell you, but we were attacked by bandits, and I…" Asoka started crying again. "Oh, Ra! Please don't let him die!" Asoka buried her face in her hands.

"Asoka? Did you say his name was…Atem?" Neferarius looked like he could have a heart attack. "As in… Pharaoh Atem?"

Asoka said nothing, standing up. She left her shocked father sitting stiffly in his chair.

"I don't believe it!" Asokas' father just stared strait ahead, his jaw hanging open before he closed it.

Asoka blinked once. If she wasn't so upset, she'd be laughing her head off. If Atem wasn't dying, she knew he would be, too. Without saying anything else, Asoka turned and ran back up the stairs.

________________________________________________________________

//Atem//

He felt pain. So much pain that he wasn't simply to die right now. Die, and then end the throbbing. His side killed him, and he felt cold one moment, before feeling insufferably hot the next. His body waged a war, and he shook from the effort it took to keep fighting.

_Ra just let me die! _The young Pharaoh pleaded, keeping his eyes closed. While his expression was serene on the outside, it was only because he felt like he had no control. He was swirling in a black void, unable to draw himself out of it. He was alone in a wasteland, unable to navigate his way back to his city.

He was scared. He couldn't find Asoka, no matter how hard he looked. Sometimes he'd hear her voice calling his name, begging him to come back.

_I'm trying! Where are you?_ He wanted to answer. He could not. The knowledge drove him to what he suspected was near insanity.

"_Atem? Atem? Please, Atem! You have to wake up! Please Atem, don't die!"_ His lovers' voice floated over the winds. He was in the middle of a desert, the sun setting and casting a brilliant flow of purples, oranges, blues, and pinks across the otherwise black sky.

"_I'm coming!" _Atem wanted to call back. Once again, he could not. He stumbled through the sand, ignoring his own pain. Asoka. All that mattered was Asoka. He had to reach her, no matter what the cost!

Still he could not. He found himself unable to move, immobilized.

It was then that the pain became so great, he could not bear it. He sank to his knees, feeling the blood rush to them as he regained control of his limbs. But slowly, he began to realize his surroundings were changing again. He felt himself falling, and then there was no more.

_Asoka…_

________________________________________________________________

//Asoka//

"Oh Ra, Atem!" Asoka clutched his hand; her hair spilling across her features as she brushed one of Atem's blonde bangs from is sweat-streaked face. He had stopped struggling from the fever about an hour ago, and his breathing had become extremely shallow.

_No no no!_ Asoka cried out in her mind, laying her head down on the bedside. She was tired, so tired… but she had to stay awake for Atem! He was dying, she knew that. He was dying, and she wanted to be there. He would wake up one last time, and she would tell him how much she loved him. How much she would continue to love him.

Forever.

Asoka closed her eyes and, against her will, found herself being sucked into a dark, black void. "_Atem!"_ She screamed out, feeling the floor she was standing on give out from under her until she was falling… falling… into oblivion.

________________________________________________________________

A bright flash of light struck out, and Asoka blearily lifted her head from where she was lying on the ground. What she saw could have stopped her heart.

There was a man, one who radiated light like he was the sun itself. His body was muscular and tanned, and he was wearing an elaborate Egyptian kilt. But as Asoka looked up, she noticed something startling. His head wasn't human. Instead, it was the head of a falcon.

_Ra!_ Asoka scrambled to her feet, and kneeled in front of the god.

"Rise, Asoka." Asoka scrambled to her feet as the god spoke, his voice emitting power such as she had never heard before. His sharp eyes landed on her, and Asoka swore he smiled briefly.

"I've been waiting for you, Asoka."

"Why me?" Asoka asked, her azure eyes wide with awe.

"Multiple reasons. You are a very special girl, Asoka. One with such great power, it could effect the balance of the world. Come here." The god made a gesturing motion with his left index finger, and Asoka stepped tentively forward.

Ra suddenly said something, his voice powerful, reassuring, and frightening all at the same time.

Asoka suddenly felt like something was ripping out of her. A flash of pure golden light lit the area she was standing in, which seemed to Asoka like a big, white marble temple, with gold shimmering everywhere at the same time. Asoka fell to the floor on her hands and knees, but when she looked up; her sight was baffled by the image in front of her. A woman with flowing midnight hair stood in front of her. She wore an adorned golden headdress, and her outfit was both splendid and modest at the same time. But this was no ordinary woman. No, attached to his woman's arms was a pair of feathered wings.

"Maat!" Asoka gasped, staring up at who she knew to be the goddess of justice.

"Asoka," Maat smiled as she walked over to Ra. The two stared down at her, and Asoka blinked once before standing up shakily.

"Why have you brought me here?"

"I needed to speak with both you and your Ka, Asoka." Ra replied evenly, and Asoka gaped at Maat. "My… Ka?"

"Yes. Indeed, your Ka is the goddess Maat." Ra explained patiently, and Maat gave an ephemeral ((A/N: Means fleeting.)) smile.

Asoka stood dumbfounded, but then she thought of Atem, her dying lover. She stared both god and goddess right in the eyes, before blurting out: "Ra, please spare Atem's life! I will do anything you wish, just spare him." She started weeping, cursing herself while she did so for displaying such raw emotions in the presence of gods.

"I can do this for you, Asoka. But you must do something for me." Ra looked at Asoka solemnly, and for a moment Asoka could have sworn he looked poignant.

"I promise," Asoka whispered.

"I will need to return to this place, soon." Maat stepped forward, gesturing around the temple. "Asoka… you know what this means?"

"I-I think so," Asoka whispered.

"I'm sorry," Maat said sadly. "But I can tell you that it won't be for awhile." The goddess gave a semi-comforting smile, and Asoka bowed her head.

"Just save him, please! I promise, when the time comes… I'll come willingly. I will. I'll free Maat, and I will follow her." Asoka's voice trembled, and her close her eyes; breathing deeply.

"You're a good person, Asoka. I only wish this didn't have to happen," Ra said.

"Thank you," Asoka mumbled, looking down.

"Atem will live," Maat said, walking up to Asoka.

"Thank you," Asoka whispered again. She didn't care what she had to do to keep him alive, just so long as she did.

"Go now, Asoka." Ra said somberly. He snapped his fingers then, and she found that the images she could see were going fuzzy. Soon, she was falling back into the black void.

Only this time, she knew where she was going.

________________________________________________________________

Asoka snapped her head up, and she was back in her childhood home. For the next ten minutes or so, she debated about whether her dream had been just that - A dream – or real. She didn't think much after that, however, so it was then that someone called her name.

"Asoka?" Atem whispered, his violet/crimson eyes fluttering open.

"Atem!" Asoka cried in delight, dream all but forgotten as she leaned over, capturing his lips in a kiss. Atem looked shocked for a moment, but then responded as eagerly as he could, considering the situation he was in.

"Am I… interrupting something?" Asoka and Atem snapped apart as the young noble heard her father cough nervously from the doorway.

"Father!" Asoka blushed deeply, her face matching Atem's eyes.

"Neferarius." Atem looked at the man, and nodded his head once in greeting.

"Father, this is my fiancé, Atem." Asoka looked down at her lover tenderly, expression soft.

"Gathered that," Neferarius said pleasantly. "I'm just not sure I believe it, that's all."

"What's not to believe?" Asoka asked wearily. Neferarius walked over to them, his back feeling stiff as he sat in another chair.

"My daughter's getting married, her fiancé makes a remarkable recovery on the brink of death, and to top it off, her fiancé is none other than the Pharaoh himself!"

Atem smiled faintly from the bed, reaching his hand up to brush Asoka's cheek. He couldn't say anything to express his emotions right now. Somehow he knew that it was Asoka who saved him.

Neferarius shook his head in disbelief. "There must have been a thousand girls who go to your palace for the opportunity of marrying you. The one girl who doesn't…"

"That's what makes her so special," Atem said as he struggled to sit up, looking unintentionally regal as he did so. Asoka smiled, and placed her hand on his. "She's not like all those other girls. For that, I am grateful."

"I love you," Asoka whispered once, and the father stood up.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone, then," he said awkwardly before side-stepping out of the room and clunking down the hallway.

Asoka laughed, as she looked down and gazed into Atem's violet/crimson eyes.

"I won't leave you, ever. Even if something were to happen, I'll find a way back to you, I promise."

"And I, you," Atem murmured. His bed was propped up against a wall, so he was leaning on it when he drew Asoka into his lap, running his fingers through her hair and murmuring to her as he rocked back and forth. Though still weak, he felt peaceful for the first time since leaving the palace. "Asoka," he spoke softly, voice husky and seductive. Asoka responded by burying her face into his chest, and sighing deeply; contently.

"I give you my word Atem, I will never leave you completely. Not ever."

Atem sighed blissfully, as he gazed down at his lover's midnight black hair. He ran his fingers through the silky-yet-wild mass once, before burying his own face in it.

"And you'll never have to, Asoka. You'll never have to."

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Cheyenne: Yay, fluff! Hope you all enjoyed it =D


	14. Chapter 13: Coming Home Surprises

Cheyenne: Wow. I was looking over my chapters to this story, and got thinking: "These chapters are pathetically short." Frankly, I'm feeling more than a little disgusted with myself. Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm still going to finish this story and its sequel, I'll just be trying to make the chapters longer, that's all ^^

I'm trying to make them longer from now on. In the meantime-Disclaimer! Yu-Gi-Oh! does not belong to Me!

I also apologize for the horribly lame title of this chapter xD

AND OHMYGOSH I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! *Ashamed* But I want to thank all my reviewers! THANK YOU! And keep reviewing ^^

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//Asoka//

It must have been a week; maybe more. Asoka didn't know, nor did she care to find out. She knew only that Mana and Mahado must be worried sick, and she felt horrible that she couldn't do anything about that. Much to Asoka's relief, however, Atem had made a nearly full recovery. His wound still pained him from time-to-time, but hey. He had gotten stabbed with a sword; what else would you expect? Asoka smiled again, which caused her father to look at her with concern.

"Asoka?" The aging man said his gray hair tied back in a ponytail, and his emerald eyes questioning. "Asoka, did you hear me?"

"Did you say something?" The midnight-haired girl replied, blinking twice before dropping her hands onto her lap, realizing she had been playing with the fabric of her dress. She hadn't meant to tune her father out, but she had been thinking a lot lately. It was time for her and Atem to return to their home. She knew her father would understand; he always did.

"Yes. I don't like the sound of that Anzu girl, and I do hope you'll be careful!" The old man waved his index finger his front of him like he was lecturing a small child about something. "She sounds a real fright. I wouldn't want her to ruin anything more than she already has! Imagine…" Neferarius shuddered, and Asoka smiled softly. "Imagining does no good. _I_ imagine I'll scare myself stiff if I try!" She laughed once, placing her hand on the wooden table to her right. "But we must return to the palace. Mahado and Mana… Oh, great Ra! Mana!" Asoka laughed again, and Neferarius looked confused. "Mana?" He inquired.

"A friend," Atem's voice came from the doorway, where he was leaning casually against it. A warm sparkle lit up his violet/crimson eyes, and Asoka turned to nod once at him.

"I see…" Neferarius said, though it was obvious he did not. Asoka stood up out of her seat, her white linen dress falling just at her ankles. "We should be off," the Egyptian said. "Mana would have… Well, being Mana, who knows what she may have done!" Atem chuckled from his spot in the doorway, and he walked up behind his fiancé; wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face into her hair before whispering something that Neferarius could not hear. Asoka giggled once, and nodded. Atem was dressed for riding, with his now-clean navy cloaked hanging around his shoulders, attached by golden clasps. He wore a simple white tunic, with a blue piece of cloth down the front. His waist was covered with a gold belt-like thing, and the rest of the tunic flowed down just at his knees. Asoka slipped out of his embrace for a moment, intent on grabbing her own cloak. Since her original cloak had been white, however, they hadn't been able to clean the blood out well enough. Instead, she had gotten another one custom made by the village tailor. Throwing it over her own frame and doing it up at the front, she pulled the hood over her head and smile brightly.

"I suppose you're going to drag me with you?" Neferarius said with a chuckle, as he reached for his cane. Standing up out of his own chair, Neferarius walked towards the door, flinging it open before stepping out into the sunlight. Since it was early morning, the sun not being too high in the sky; the heat wasn't as searing as it would surely be later on. Asoka followed her father, after throwing her hair up into a quick, yet tight braid. Neferarius grinned, his gray goatee giving him a classic old-man look. His own gray hair was pulling back into a ponytail, as was custom. Asoka smoothed down her plain white dress. There were no sleeves, and she wore a simple golden belt around her waist to hold shape. On all three of the travelers feet were black sandals, good for desert travel and quick getaways, should they be attacked again. Atem stepped out after Asoka, his penetrating gaze landing on the three horses on which they would be traveling. Asoka's white mare, his black stallion, and Neferarius's mare. While Atem's horse was completely black, and Asoka's was completely white, Neferarius's mare had a chestnut colored coat. A white sock could be seen on said horse's right foreleg, and both mane and tail were black.

"Ready to go?" Asoka inquired of her father, who nodded. Asoka smiled, as the old man walked down the path and up to his horse. Atem offered to help him up, but Neferarius merely shook his head with a chuckle saying: "I may be old, but I gotta prove I have some strength left in me!" After he said that, he spent maybe a minute or two grappling with the reins; securing a hold before hauling himself up with a satisfied grin; completely unaware of how Asoka's eyes danced and sparkled with amusement. Stifling his own laughter, Atem mounted his horse after helping Asoka up, even though both of them knew she didn't need help at all. Asoka pulled back on the reins of her horse once, making the white mare back up with a small snort. The dagger that Asoka wore at her waist jabbed her once, but it was in its scabbard so it didn't do anything except cause her mild discomfort until she shifted it. Atem's sword was clasped at his side, too; a clear warning to any attackers who might try something.

They would not be caught so off guard again.

"We're going home." Asoka smiled as she said this, and Atem turned to smile at her once before clicking his tongue, making his horse go forward; taking the lead while Asoka rode next to her father, who in turn rode slightly behind Atem. In short, they rode in a triangular formation, following the path they had used to first come to the small village of Asoka's birth.

==Two Hours Later==

"Omens." Neferarius had been muttering to himself for the past five or ten minutes, mostly talking about his aching joints and wondering how long it would take them to get to the palace itself. Asoka knew Atem was smirking in front of them, as they all urged their horses to go a little faster after dismounting to give them some water before mounting and starting off again.

"What's that about omens?" Atem called from his stallion.

"Wrotten little things, they are. Omens; dreams; the likes of them. They all mean something, and they certainly aren't 'just' dreams or omens. They all mean something, and it's a shame when people suffer after not believing in something the gods told them; especially since they just dismiss them as nonsense. Take that one village I heard about… Te-Te-Te-something." Neferarius shook his head, obviously not able to pronounce the name correctly.

"Yes?" Atem urged.

"Well, I heard the prophet for the village predicted that an army would come and destroy everything. Only a few survived. Those lucky enough to actually live through the disaster were both super lucky and escaped; or far more likely taken as slaves by the Hirrak people."

"Hirrak?" Asoka echoed, a sickening feeling clench her stomach.

"Yes. Why?"

Asoka blinked three times, and closed her eyes once. "I know someone from there… one of the survivors of the village raid." The girl smiled ruefully.

"Oh?" Neferarius cocked an eyebrow, looking at his daughter with curiosity.

"Yes."

"Hirrak!" Atem's voice was filled with venom. "That's Anzu's 'kingdom'." ((AN: I could never think of a name for the tribe until now. T_T I'm so incredibly lame.))

"Oh, really?" The old man frowned, scratching his chin with a wrinkled hand. "I never made the connection. Asoka never really told me the name…"

"I never knew it myself! Everyone just referred to it as: 'The Tribe', or something like that. I just hope we've heard the last of them…" Asoka sighed as she said this, and another rueful smile crept across her tanned features. Blinking again, she spurred her horse forward to match the new pace Atem had set.

"We want to be there by nightfall at least," Atem said as Asoka sent him a questioning look.

"Oh," was all the girl said, deciding not to question him further, as the young Pharaoh was obviously pissed off about something. Probably Anzu. After that, the trio rode in silence, each the slave to their own thoughts until Asoka was struck by an almost horrific memory. Her dream! She had been so caught up in the naming of Hirrak… she hadn't connected her dream to her father's speech. What if her dream wasn't just nonsense? What if it…? No, it wouldn't. It couldn't. Not after all that had happened, no sir. Smiling, and trying to persuade herself that her dreams were merely gibberish, Asoka rode on into the stretch of desert before her.

==Seven Hours Later==

Asoka groaned. Her back was stiff, and her braid stuck to the back of her neck. Beneath her, her white mare was sweating, too. Lifting her gaze she noticed her father seemed almost asleep is his saddle. Stifling her giggles, Asoka increased her speed until she was beside Atem. "I see the palace," the girl said with a longing sigh. Atem smiled, turning his head to the right and nodding at her.

"Race you," the Pharaoh said with a wicked grin. Asoka returned it, and leaned back to tap her father on the shoulders. "See you at the palace!" The girl laughed before they both spurred their horses again and rode as fast as they could towards the palace. They were going at such great speed, it was even more of a surprise when Neferarius finally caught up to them, just as they were about to reach the gate. All three of them laughed, which quickly turned to a yelp of surprise from Asoka as she realized how close they were to the palace gate. "Stop the horses! We'll crash!" She called as she jerked heavily upon the reigns, watching as Atem and Neferarius did so, too. At the last second, however, the gates to the palace were thrown open and Asoka could hear Atem grunt as he struggled to make his horse obey him as the animals' hooves slipped across the polished stones of the front palace gardens.

"Ra!" Atem cursed as his horse finally slid to a stop in front of the stairs leading up to the palace.

"I'm with you on that one!" Neferarius panted.

Asoka said nothing, merely groaning in discomfort as her horse, too, came to a stop. "This is madness!" She said as she blinked the grains of sand out of her eyes. Atem wiped his brow once and looked up at the gold-glittering staircase.

"We should head inside, lest-"

"ATEM! ASOKA! YOU'RE BACK!" A white-and-brown blur ran down the stairs, tripping near the end and falling until she crashed into Asoka, who had by then dismounted. Letting out a startled yelp, Asoka felt herself fall backwards onto the hard stones of the pathway.

"Mana!" Asoka gasped, and the blur shook her head full of brown hair with a sheepish grin.

"Sorry!" Mana grinned as she stood up, not sounding very sorry at all. "Oh, but we were so worried! We didn't know what had happened, and-"

"Sire!" Mana was interrupted as Mahado called out, Seto and Isis beside him.

"We feared the worst!" Isis gasped as she lifted her skirts and raced down the stairs. "My Millennium Necklace revealed to me an attack forced upon you both by bandits! We feared that-"

"We feared you both perished! When you did not return as scheduled… "Mana's eyes were wide and fearful.

"We figured the bandits might have gotten you!" Seto finished blandly, eyes flashing.

"They did… sort of…" Asoka wished she hadn't said anything, as all eyes turned to her.

"What do you mean?" Mahado asked, his brown eyes flickering.

"She means that we encountered the bandits, yes. They caught us by surprise… and we barely got out alive." Atem answered calmly.

"What do you mean?" Isis inquired.

"One of them caught me," Atem grimaced as Asoka placed a hand over his side. The place where the wound was still tended to be tender to the touch.

"Caught?"

"Stabbed," Asoka concluded grimly.

"Oh!" Mana squealed in horror.

"Yes. Afterwards, I came down with a fever… or so Asoka tells me."

"He did. I got him to my village, though, so he's fine now… mostly." Asoka said.

"Mostly?" Isis echoed. "What do you mean by that?"

"The wound still hurts from time-to-time, but otherwise is fun. But I believe we have some other duties to prepare for?" Atem's violet-crimson eyes sparkled, and Asoka blushed. Neferarius stepped forward.

"ARE YOU NEFERARIUS?" Mana asked happily, obviously exited.

"Yes," the old man replied with a slight grin.

"OH GOOD! WE CAN START THE WEDDING THEN!" Mana started talking a mile a minute about how the great hall was to be set up, but she finally calmed down when Mahado placed his hand on her shoulder in an effort to calm her down, though he looked clearly amused.

"Tomorrow, Mana!" Mahado said with a laugh.

"Man, those guests are going to be angry after we made the wedding delay itself…" Asoka shook her head, azure eyes downcast.

"Not really. The original event was scheduled for tomorrow. We figured you would need time to get ready yourselves after coming back, so we set the actual event for a couple days after your assumed return." Seto smirked as he said this. "So, even though you are late in your actual return…"

"We haven't missed the actual thing?" Asoka's eyes were wide, and she smiled radiantly.

"Exactly!" Mana gushed.

"Thank Ra!"

"Yes, thank Ra." Tamara moved up behind Seto and smiled at them, giving the blue-eyed priest a bit of a scare. "You scared me…"

"Smooth," was all Atem said before snaking his arm around Asoka's waist again, drawing her as close to him as he could as he stared at the high priests and priestess.

"Shall we?" Was all the young Egyptian monarch said as Isis, Mahado, and Seto turned; walking up the gold-like stairs to the great doorway in front of them.

"Oh for-! Open the door!" Seto yelled up at nothing, but the door swung open anyways.

"Seto!" Tamara chided with a laugh, her eyes sparkling as she moved in front of him to lead the way in.

Asoka and Atem smiled at each other once before following them.

Neferarius lingered for a moment, trying to take all this in before Mana poked him impatiently, saying: "Let's go! There are some last minute preparations to be done!" With that, the young girl raced up the staircase, the old man shaking his head and following her with a slight smirk on his face as he did so.

Isis and Mahado looked at each other, before Isis gave a small laughed. Placing her right hand over the Millennium Necklace quickly, she proceeded to follow the others up the stairway and into the gold-colored throne room. Mahado followed suite.

________________________________________________________________

//Atem//

Atem sighed. 'Ra, it's good to be home,' he thought. He had enjoyed his stay at Asoka's old village… or rather; he had enjoyed the stay at Asoka's village that didn't involve major pain – but he had awaited the return trip home with a large amount of anticipation. It was good to be back, among the constant yet harmless and friendly bickering of the six Keepers, and Mana's lively presence. He had even missed his cousin Seto's sarcastic comments!

Atem laughed, which earned him a confused look from Asoka.

"What is it?" His fiancé asked, and Atem felt himself swell with emotion as he looked at her. How many times had he almost lost her? Too many. Too many for comfort.

"I was thinking about home. And I even admitted to myself that I missed Seto's sarcasm!"

"Never thought I'd hear that!" Asoka laughed, resting her head on his shoulder as they stopped just in front of Atem's throne. During his period of thought, they had made their way up the stairs and into the throne room itself, where they had proceeded to move unintentionally towards the throne.

"Yes. I was also thinking about…"

"About what?"

"About how many time I've almost lost you, Asoka." Atem's voice turned slightly mournful at that, though the proud Pharaoh tried (unsuccessfully) to hide that.

"Oh, Atem…" Atem looked down to see Asoka staring him intently. Without warning, she reached up and pulling him down into a deep, passionate kiss. Instantly, Atem felt like melting into her touch, but eventually they had to pull back in order to breathe.

"Don't worry about losing me," the girl whispered. "I told you I would never leave you completely."

"I love you," was all Atem said.

"I know," Asoka smiled in return as the two turned to face the very amused looks of Isis, Mahado, and Seto. Tamara and Mana were just smiling knowingly. Well, at least Tamara was. Mana was just insanely happy-looking.

Atem shot Seto a glare. "Right, like we didn't all watch you and Tamara getting it on in the hallways!"

"Shut up!" Seto snapped back lamely.

"Both of you!" Isis stepped in, though she was clearly amused. "That's enough. Though, Atem is right…"

"Not you, too!" Seto cried out indignantly.

"Back off guys," Mahado laughed as Mana skipped blissfully over to them, holding out her hands.

"I declare this pathetically lame fight over! Come back when you've finished rehearsing your comebacks. Seriously, Seto. 'Shut up'? Is that the best you can do? I've heard better." Mana rolled her eyes and grinned at them all.

"Yeah, Seto!" Atem mocked.

"ANYWAYS…" Mana continued, shooting both cousins a slight glare, "We have a great hall to decorate! Isis, Mahado! You two get started on the decorations! And Seto, you're in charge of the guest list! I get to oversee the food!" Mana said, looking more than a little hyper.

"What can we do?" Atem asked, hiding his amusement.

"You two can… Asoka can help me and you and Seto can bicker over the guest list!" Mana said brightly. Asoka laughed.

"Okay," the soon-to-be-queen laughed.

"Great! Okay everyone, MOVE MOVE MOVE!" Mana clapped her hands together and grabbed Asoka's hands, dragging her off to the palace kitchens. Atem chuckled, and moved over to Seto. "Ready to argue pointlessly over guests?" The Pharaoh asked.

"Always," Seto replied as the two kin laughed again, moving away to look at the scroll of papyrus that Mana had left on a table for them.

"Now… The Lord and Lady Beratari…"

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//Asoka//

"Come on!" Mana continued to drag the laughing noble by her wrists as the two girls made their way down the hallways of the palace, towards were delicious smells were drifting from the palace kitchen.

"I don't care! You will get this ready for tomorrow or I'll send your soul to the Shadow Realm!" A male voice suddenly hissed from the kitchen.

"He doesn't mean it," a second male voice said patiently. "He's just aggravated."

"Like hell he doesn't mean it!" A third (still male) voice snapped. "You there! We NEED these ready for tomorrow, and if they're not, I'll HELP him send your soul to the Shadow Realm!"

"Marik!" A fourth, female voice said, rising about the ominous threats of the first and third males. Her heart missing a beat, Asoka started to move faster until she burst into the kitchen. What she saw both shocked her and made her want to laugh out loud.

There were fourth figures. Two of them were looming over the poor cook in a threatening manner, too busy to notice Asoka's arrival.

"I-I don't think-"

"Don't say it!" One of the two figures, a man with tanned skin and a scar by his right eye, growled. His hair was spiky and white, reaching his shoulders and then some. He wore a red robe edged with golden thread and a white kilt-like thing, and his eyes were a blazing chocolate. The second figure had insanely wild sandy-blonde, lavender eyes, and was wearing a dark purple cloak and white tunic. His eyes were marked by kohl, outlining his features. Slightly behind them both stood two others. One was another albino male, having long white hair and wearing a light blue tunic, yet his skin was oddly pale and white for someone living in Egypt; though he was not unhealthy. Far from it, actually. His eyes were a dark brown. So brown, in fact, that they could appear black to those just glancing him over. The fourth was female, wearing a simple white linen dress. Her hair was short and brown, falling in curly waves just above her shoulders. Her eyes were also a warm brown, but she looked exasperated. Then Asoka noticed the woman's stomach, which seemed to have rounded a bit. Asoka gasped happily, and the woman turned.

"Inyri! Ryou! Bakura! Marik!" Asoka cried out happily, and the smaller of the two albinos turned to give her a happy smile.

"See if you can talk some sense into these two!" Inyri said, and Ryou nodded in agreement.

"Some sense my ass!" Bakura snapped, growling at the cook before noticing Asoka.

"Please! Bakura, Marik, I need my cook for tomorrow!" Asoka giggled as she closed the distance between her friends.

"T-Thank you, miss!" The cook gasped as he scurried off to the other side of the room.

"Asoka!" Inyri threw her tanned arms around her friend happily, and Asoka smiled as she stepped back afterwards. "How long?" She asked, looking at her friend's stomach. She was obviously with child.

"Oh!" Inyri giggled with a shrug, placing her hand over her stomach. "I think about-"

"Bakura!" Ryou suddenly called out as the thief starting picking at the array of sample foods in front of him. "Those are for Asoka to test out!"

"And me!" Mana said, making her presence known as she stepped into the room with another grin.

"Hello, Mana!" Ryou greeted civilly. After returning to Egypt, he and Bakura had been frequent visitors to the palace. Marik and Inyri, however, hadn't been back until now.

"Yeah, whatever. Hello," Bakura grumbled as he helped himself to a date. Marik just waved his hand and, like Bakura, proceeded to eat stuff off sample platters.

"Hey!" Mana cried out in frustration, snatching a fig out of Bakura's hand. "No! Those aren't for you!"

"Hey!" Bakura protested, until Ryou laid a hand on his arm to calm the angry tomb robber down. Asoka just laughed at them, gently lifting up both a fig and a date before sampling them. After she did that, she licked her lips with a satisfied "Mmm" sound. "I think these will suffice nicely!" As she said that, a thump was heard from down the hallway followed by the bickering of two males:

"We're NOT inviting her!"

"It would add insult to injury! Besides, I found her presence insufferable while she was here…It would be funny to see her face as she scowls in the stands."

"You find most peoples presence insufferable!"

"That includes yours."

"Why you-!" There was a brief crash, as if someone had thrown something at someone else only missed.

"What the hell?" Marik finally said after a moment, before laughing with Bakura. After a moment, Asoka laughed, too.

"I see Seto was practicing his comebacks!" Mana giggled.

"And I see Atem's aim with vases hasn't improved…" Asoka smirked.

"Unless Seto just got better at dodging them," Mana returned.

"That's possible," Asoka concluded with a wicked grin.

"-Your aim has gotten worse, Pharaoh!" The voice of Seto could be heard from down the hallway.

"You try getting stabbed by a bandit. See how well you can throw things!" Another crash was heard.

"Oww! Damnit…" The voice of Seto growled.

"I take back what I said about Seto's dodging skills," Mana grinned.

"I heard that!" The voice of Seto snarled, and suddenly the form of the priest filled the doorway. Asoka looked up as Seto rubbed his head, turning backwards to scowl at something behind him. Asoka laughed as Atem's voice drifted from behind: "See, Seto? I told you that you failed at dodging."

"You wanna see just how well _you_ can dodge, Pharaoh?" Seto snapped back, but Atem just chuckled.

"Don't be a sore loser."

"Sore is right!" Seto huffed, rubbing his head again.

"Have I made my point?"

"Yes!"

"Good."

"Atem!" Asoka chided, but anyone could tell she didn't mean it as she walked over to her fiancé and kissed him once, before leaning against him as he once again encircled his hands around her waist, drawing her into his embrace.

"Save it for the wedding night!" Bakura called out, trying (unsuccessfully) to sneak another fig.

"No!" Mana slapped his hand with a fierce scowl.

"Oh, let him have some!" Ryou pleaded, turning his large brown eyes on Mana.

"Yeah, please?" Bakura added, watching as his koi(1) pulled his cute eyes on Mana.

"Oh…" Mana looked at Asoka, who nodded. "Fine!"

"Yes!" Bakura crowed in victory, snatching the fig back and eating it quickly before both he and Marik tore into the samples.

"Marik!" Inyri laughed.

"It's good food!" Marik protested innocently, eating more.

"Not that much!"

"So?"

"It's unless, Inyri," Ryou said deprecatingly ((AN: dryly)), though his eyes twinkled in laughter. Inyri groaned, but she nodded her head with a faint smirk. "Fine, stuff your face! But don't blame me when you get a stomach ache later!"

"That's the spirit!" Atem smirked from where he had buried his face in Asoka's hair. Releasing her, he walked over towards his two friends and plopped a juicy-looking date into his mouth. "Mmm…" He moaned, casting a smirk over at Asoka who looked jealously at the platter of dates.

"Jealous?" Atem asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"A little. What's it to you?"

"For the record, you taste better than a date."

Asoka's face flushed red, and Bakura and Marik hooted with laughter.

"Shut up!" Asoka grumbled.

"Shut up? Surely you can do better than that, Asoka!" Seto mocked from his position in the doorway.

"Coming from you, that's truly satirical!" Asoka shot back at him.

"Oh, using big words now are we?" Seto looked amused.

"Seto, be nice!" Tamara's soft voice drifted from the hallway.

"Party in the kitchen!" Bakura whooped as he grabbed Ryou, swinging him around in a circle by the waist before placing the shocked-looking albino back onto the ground.

"Hell yeah!" Marik chimed in, causing Inyri to sigh in exasperated amusement.

"You guys are so immature!" Asoka said with an eye roll.

"But you love us anyways," Atem said teasingly.

"So what if I do?"

"That makes it all good!"

"…You go on believing that." Asoka teased right back.

"I'll do that, plus some!"

"Your majesty!" Tamara called again from the hallway.

"Yes?" Atem answered swiftly.

"I think it is time we ended this little… party," the healer continued.

"Aww! Party-killer!" Marik groaned.

"I'm not ending this!" Bakura swooped in towards the plate of dates, intent on eating the rest when Ryou grabbed his arm firmly. "That's enough! You're hyper enough as it is."

"Am I?" Bakura laughed, managing to shovel two more dates into his mouth.

"How-?"

"Thief!" Atem eyed his friend, and Bakura shrugged a little sheepishly.

"Yeah, Thief!" Seto mocked.

"Can it, Priest boy!" Marik threw back.

"I declare this party officially at an end!" Atem's voice rose above the others, as his violet-crimson eyes bore into each of his guests. Bakura shrugged, letting Ryou coax him into putting the whole platter of dates down. Marik simultaneously handed his captive plate of figs over to the cook, who looked almost shell-shocked.

"Those figs and dates are getting more attention than we are!" Inyri and Ryou complained at the same time, before bursting into giggles along with Asoka.

"My thoughts exactly," the midnight-haired girl echoed her friends.

"We'll fix that," Bakura said huskily as he grinned at Ryou, who blushed; scarlet flooding his cheeks.

"Get a room!" Atem laughed.

"We will!" Bakura answered swiftly, making Ryou's blush increase further. Marik and Inyri were too busy laughing to add their two bits in.

"Ugh! You guys have got to be the most-"

"Handsome?"

"Epic?"

"-ANNOYING-" Seto growled, angry at being interrupted by both Marik and Bakura, "-people I've ever met!"

"You have never met people like us!" Bakura said as he and Marik high-fived each other.

"Thank Ra!" Seto snapped.

"Now Seto!" Tamara chided, squeezing into the doorway beside him. "And what did I say? Party's over!"

"It's not over until we say it's over!" Bakura and Marik grinned.

"It's over!" Ryou concluded, glaring at his yami.

"Ryou!" Bakura whined.

"Don't Ryou me!" Ryou shook his right index finger in the tomb robber's face. "Come on! We have to rest up for tomorrow!" He smiled at Asoka and Atem, before grabbing the other albino's hand and dragging him out of the kitchen.

"Come on, Marik. They're right," Inyri said, "though this was fun. We'll have to do it again sometime!" She laughed as she and her husband left the kitchen, too, heading towards the room they had been supplied with.

"Don't count on it!" Seto called after them.

"Seto!" Tamar lightly whacked him over the back of the head. "You've been working too hard. Come, let us retire," the healer said as she turned and moved back down the hallway, pausing to see that Seto would follow her. After the priest sighed and walked over to where she stood, Tamara smiling as the two vanished from view.

"P-pardon me, but your friends are odd…" The frightened cook stammered.

"No argument there," Atem laughed as Asoka smiled. "None whatsoever," the noble added her piece.

"Shall we follow their example and turn in for the night?"

"Yes," Asoka answered, suddenly feeling exhaustion wash across her like a wave.

"Right then!" Asoka suddenly felt herself being lifted off the ground as Atem carried her bridal-style out of the kitchen, down the vast hallways of the palace, and into their room.

"Atem?" Asoka was barely conscious, so tired was she. In fact, she barely registered that neither of the two had bothered to change out of their riding clothes, until she felt the golden clasps around Atem's wrists. Sighing, she allowed Atem to place her unsteadily on the ground, as she quickly slipped out of her white dress and into a simple linen shift, releasing her hair from the braid she had worn all day. She watched as Atem did much the same, until he was wearing nothing but a clean white kilt around his waist, before she collapsed backwards onto the white sheets of the bed. Her azure eyes started to close, and she was almost asleep when she felt Atem's arms wrap around her, and she snuggled into his chest and moaned sleepily.

"Love you," the tired noble whispered before feeling herself slip away, barely catching Atem's words as he said:

"I love you, too."

________________________________________________________________

Cheyenne: ZOMIGODZ! Longest freaking chapter I think I've written, ESPECIALLY for this story! Over 5,300 words! Well, I hope you all enjoyed it, and again I apologize for the long wait! *Feels ashamed*

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!

And again, A _**SUPERMEGAAWESOMELYAWESOMEAPPRECIATIVE THANK YOU**_ TO ALL OF YOU REVIEWERS!!!!!!

Thanks =D

(1)Koi – Love.


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